


RWBY: Ragnarok

by Deamon_Hunter



Series: The Ragnarok Cycle [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Character Death, Dubious Morality, Fights, Multi, Older Characters, Original Character(s), Pagan Gods, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2018-06-05 15:50:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 72
Words: 168,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6711409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deamon_Hunter/pseuds/Deamon_Hunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fenrir, The Great Wolf has returned. His arrival on Remnant signals the End of Times: Ragnarok. The Gods will intervene, sending Guardians to defend the World of Remnant and hopefully kill the Wolf before he becomes unstoppable. but will it be enough to stop Fenrir? Or will a kinder, more honest soul be required?</p>
<p>As Six Guardians: Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren arrive on Remnant they will find Fenrir already moving, ashes left in his wake. But other forces are moving in Remnant as well. Salem has plans of her own, and the Guardians may find that Fenrir is not be their greatest enemy. Will they achieve victory, or realize too late that perhaps they are but mortals themselves, and like others, doomed to face an enemy they cannot defeat?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Inspired by a variety of sources including artwork by Dishwasher1910 (check out his artwork), a Fairytale for the Demon Lord by Yang-Hwan Kim and using the RWBY universe created by Monty Oum. All works belong to their respective owners.

I do not own RWBY all rights belong to roosterteeth productions  
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Darkness

Shadows

Lights

He opened his eyes. The sight of a shattered moon greeted him. It basked him in an incandescent glow. He stood. The wind billowed around him. He closed his eyes as he experienced the brisk cool wind. It was the first time in centuries? Millennia? Eons? Whenever the last rending of the world was. The world had changed.

"It has come again." He said in a deep voice. He took account of his surroundings. He was in a forest. It was dark, the tress tall. The grass rustled beneath his feet. He looked around for something reflective. He had not laid eyes on himself since the last time.

When had that happened? When was the last time he had basked in the blood of his foes, worthy and unworthy? When was the last time he had left a city in flames, nations broken with a simple wave of his hand? When was the last time he had feasted on the heart of a God? Heard their screams? When had he last torn down Valhalla, left it a smoking ruin? He basked in the memory.

A glowing city. Night falling where the sun never set, the collapse of the heavens unending reign. He looked as the Great Tower of Odin fell crumbled beneath the weight of its own grandeur, the flames breaking the very foundations of the building. The tower he was on, the throne of Freya was not much smaller. A good view of the end he thought. He looked down as hordes of the Creatures of Darkness swarmed the city. He heard the screams of helpless victims and the crackling of flames. He turned to look at the felled god before him.

"You cannot win Wolf. There will always be light." Odin said weakly. The Great God wore bulky golden armor. The plate imbued with glowing, flowing script. Sacred enchantments to protect it's wearer. Such things were useless before Him. At Odin's side the Unbreakable Spear lay broken, and with it, Odin's strength.

"Even light yields to darkness. The Darkness is where light comes from and shall forever return to." He said lightly. He approached the god, kneeling as Odin instinctively struggled to drag himself away.

The Great Wolf smiled. Quickly he plunged his fingers into Odin's leg, shattering the plate armor protecting it. Odin howled in pain. The Great Wolf twisted his finger like a knife, causing Odin to Scream all the louder.

Suddenly another voice caught the Wolf's attention.

"Father!" The wolf did not turn; instead he struck instinctively with his hand. The hand struck armor, scale mail if the Wolf was correct. The armor crumpled and the blow drove the attacker into a nearby wall. The impact caused the wall to crumble onto the attacker.

"No!" Odin shouted.

The wolf yanked his hand out of Odin and slowly walked over to the pile of rubble. The pile burst. A figure burst from the pile. With a shout the attacker, a blonde haired man with blue eyes swung his small war hammer down, aiming for the Wolf's head. The Wolf smiled. He reached up and grabbed the wrist of his attacker.

"Thor, oh Thor what to do with you? I thought Jormungand would have killed you by now." The Wolf snickered.

Thor's blue eyes widened; his mouth turned to create on O shape as he realized his fate. The Wolf pulled back his free hand.

"This is farewell." He said as he thrust his hand into Thor's chest.

"No!" Odin screamed in horror. His voice was weakened and to the Wolf it sounded more like begging. He cherished this moment.

Thor stood motionless his eyes glanced down. His gaze followed the arm now sticking from his chest, up to the shoulder and to the face of the Wolf. The Wolf smiled… wolfishly as he grasped the heart of the god in his hand. The Wolf yanked out his hand easily, bringing Thor's still beating heart with him. Thor looked on in horror, blood gushing from the hole in his chest. Blood dripped from his mouth as he stepped backwards.

The Wolf frowned. "Strong for a god." He noted. He crushed the heart in his hand and tossed the bloody pulp to the side. Thor's gaze followed the bloody pulp. The Wolf walked up to him. Thor backed away, he froze near the edge of the tower. He hunched over, growing paler by the moment as his very life gushed from him. The Wolf followed. He gently placed a hand on Thor's forehead.

"Tsk, tsk." The Wolf said. "It is picturesque. The glorious warrior felled, his city in flames at his back." The wolf turned to look at Odin "His dear father, able to do nothing while his son dies." With his free hand he took grasp of Thor's hammer, Mjolnir and slowly pulled it from Thor's weak grasp. Thor grunted. The Wolf turned back to Thor.

"Last words?" He asked Thor gurgled in response. The Wolf frowned "I thought not." He said as he lazily pushed Thor from the edge of the tower. He fell without a sound. The Wolf's gaze followed Thor's descent, The God made no attempt to change course or avoid his inevitable fate. He plummeted and vanished under the feet of thousands of Grimm.

The Wolf turned back to Odin, the man now thoroughly broken. He did not weep for his son, only breathed slowly. The fire in his eyes had vanished, replaced by the most wonderful of emotions: Despair.

The Wolf hefted Mjolnir. How the gods thought a hammer would defeat him he did not know, nor did he care.

"Now to finish things." He said with a grin as he approached Odin.

He would savor this.

A growl snapped the man back to the present. A familiar sound. The Wolf smiled. As he looked on he noticed a Beowulf exiting the shadows. More soon surrounded him. He raised his hand and then there was silence.

He spied a nearby pool more of a large puddle, but it would do what he desired. He walked over, the Beowolves parting to make a path. He looked down when he reached the puddle. His hair was chin length, messy and Jet black. He had a slight beard stubble over a sharp face. High cheekbones. His eyes were a piercing red. Down the side of his face was ancient, flowing script, charcoal black. He would have to cover that to avoid attention. He grinned wolfishly as he looked down at himself. Well built. What truly amused him were the furry wolf ears on top of his head.

"Well this is new." He muttered, amused at such an obvious indication of his identity. It didn't truly matter, the darkness had gathered, had reached a critical mass, enough to give birth to him again.

The end has come. He said more to himself than anything else. He stood up and looked at the shattered moon. He smiled amused at how the worlds changed each time. He shivered slightly.

"First things first." He said stretching his body. "I need clothes." He walked into the forest, the Beowolves following him. "Then I need to see if they've invented milkshakes here. I always did love the chocolate ones."  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please Follow, Favorite and Review!

The chapter length will fluctuate for this story sorry about that but I want to break up different POV's. This story will definitely be on the more serious side. This will also deal with some of the darker aspects of the RWBY-verse too. For example, there is only so much you can do to keep children from being destroyed by their violent experiences. This will become more apparent as team RNJR appears but that won't happen for another few chapters, I'm still introducing the characters after all. Next chapter should be up fairly soon, maybe the beginning of next week.

Also looking for a beta, if there is anyone interested message me or mention it in a review!

happy hunting!


	2. Chapter 2

Vytal: a realm far from Remnant

"Knight-commander Arc" The man said from his chair.

"Lord-General Ozpin" Jaune Arc replied formally.

Ozpin smiled. "I think we can skip the formalities. How is your team?"

"They are doing well. Nothing out of the ordinary to report." Jaune said, He shifted uncomfortably in his armor. He never felt comfortable without Crocea Mors at his side. The greatsword was a family heirloom, granted it had been re-forged into its current form only recently but it was still made from the old heirloom.

"Good." Ozpin said rather distantly.

"Sir, with due respect, why was I summoned." Ozpin looked at him gently. Ozpin had always been fond of Jaune Arc, he was a dedicated student and trained himself to defend what remained of the world of Vytal, new homeland of the Gods. After the Fall of Valhalla eons ago, they had traveled the multiverse for a new home. The slowly built their strength, hoping to end the threat of the Great Wolf when he next appeared. Ozpin had trained since that day so long ago, the horror had impacted him greatly, no other realm should suffer such a fate.

"Fenrir has appeared." Ozpin said. Jaune froze. He had heard of the Great Wolf. Hushed whispers, stories of The Fall. Another dimension would crumble if they did not act.

"What realm? I thought we had kept the darkness away from such a critical mass." Jaune wondered, giving voice to what everyone who had heard the news had thought.

"A realm where the Grimm are stronger than most, the ripples were not felt because their growth was abnormally slow. It has been millennia rather than decades." Ozpin explained.

"When is the Head-Commander mobilizing the force?" Jaune asked, knowing his team would leap at the chance to fight in such a battle.

"Head-Commander Summer Rose will not be going." Ozpin said.

Jaune stared at him, his face showing a mixture of shock and confusion.

"Why not?" he asked

"This dimension is similar to ours, we exist there as well." Ozpin explained. With a wave of his hand images appeared behind him.

Jaune scanned the tea. RWBY, JNPR, CFVY even STRQ and CRDL. Ozpin and Glynda appeared as well. As did images of Beacon

"What does it mean?" he asked.

"I don't know." Ozpin said shaking his head "But for some reason our research indicates that Summer Rose is dead in this world. She was a well-known "huntress" a slayer of the Grimm. Placing her there may bring undesired attention."

"So their Guardians are called Huntresses?" Jaune assumed.

"Or hunters if male. It doesn't matter much." Ozpin explained. He stood looking at Jaune.

"Knight Commander Arc, you and your team are to rendezvous with Team RWBY, headed by Knight Commander Ruby Rose, you will then head to this world called Remnant. Once there you will maintain secrecy of at all possible gather information on Fenrir's whereabouts and report back."

Jaune saluted "Sir."

Ozpin looked the boy in the eyes his gaze narrowed "If you see an opportunity, you are to kill Fenrir on site, Collateral damage is of little concern, but do try to keep it to a minimum if possible. One world is nothing in the face of a dimension and all life in it being destroyed."

Jaune paused. "Sir." He said, affirming his understanding of the situation.

"Return to your team." Ozpin ordered, returning Jaune's salute.

Jaune briskly turned and left the room. The metallic door closing on his way out with a quiet hiss.

Ozpin sat back down. He intertwined his fingers and shook his head, looking at the ceiling he sighed. "I hate doing that. Does that make me weak?" He wondered.

"Only if you believe so." Said a voice. Ozpin turned his head.

"How long have you been there?" He asked the figure who seemingly stepped out of nowhere. Dressed lightly in a tight sleeveless knitted shirt and a form fitting skirt, she wore only a pale white breastplate and gauntlets for armor. She had silver eyes and her dark hair was cut short, the edges dyed white. She wore a white cloak over her armor. She stood there expressionlessly.

"Glynda told me what you are doing. They're not ready." She said.

"I'd say none of us are ready Summer." Ozpin replied.

Summer crossed her arms and placed a pout on her face, similar to what her daughter did. Ozpin groaned internally.

"I want to go on the mission. I am the most experienced and the Ranking Officer of the Guardians."

"Be that as it may, I will not risk you on this mission. If Fenrir is back-"

"You are sending my daughters on this mission, Taiyang would never forgive me if her or Yang got hurt." Summer said a hint of steel in her voice.

Ozpin flinched at hearing Taiyang's name. The man had died defending Vytal from a Grimm Invasion. He had famously held an entire flank by himself, single–handedly destroying thousands of Grimm in the process. There was a statue of him in Amity Park, a memorial to those who had died in the defense of the homeland.

"Your daughters won't raise alarms like you will. They are still alive in that world." Ozpin argued. Summer thought for a second before smiling deviously.

"Good point." She said. Ozpin, instead of relaxing tensed even more. "Send Raven." Like a coiled spring finally being released Ozpin slumped. He rubbed his head. "Dear Valhalla no."

"She's still alive." Summer pointed out her smile growing bigger.

"I am not sending that… monster to an innocent dimension." Ozpin said fiercely.

"How about Qrow?" Summer asked the pout returning to her face. Ozpin started to buckle. "Please Summer…" He begged. Qrow would be an even bigger disaster, "he'd get half the women from the planet pregnant." Ozpin argued, hoping Qrow's less than stellar reputation would dissuade Summer. The fact Qrow de facto was holder of the title of "Sire of the most illegitimate children" did not endear trust in him.

Summer Sighed and raised a hand to her head. "Ozpin, it's either Me, Raven or Qrow." Otherwise I will get all three of us to go through, we need to keep them safe." Summer warned. Ozpin immediately felt the color drain from his face. The thought of that much of the former team STRQ going to one dimension was enough to make him panic. There was a half destroyed dimension full of Qrow's demigod offspring somewhere out there and he did not want to see what it was like. The rumors were bad enough to make him seal the dimension and ban travel to and from it. In truth he had prayed that Fenrir would show up there, it would get rid of a glaringly large problem: namely demi-gods that had inherited Qrow Branwen's DNA and likely his personality. Maybe they would even have killed Fenrir.

"I'll send Raven." Ozpin yielded slumping even more deeply into his chair. Summer smiled in victory.

"Wonderful!" She said as she started to fade. "I'll go inform her immediately."

"If she's with Qrow don't!" Ozpin exclaimed. Summer gave him a Cheshire grin.

Ozpin once again slumped into his chair. He would need to offer a prayer to Odin, probably a few dozen to have a chance of dealing with this.

"Just don't let Qrow catch wind of this. Summer, please don't tell Qrow." He begged "I don't want to have to deal with more paperwork!" He thought. Ozpin wondered why there was always so much paperwork. He snapped his fingers and the paperwork in the corner of the room rematerialized. There were piles of it going up to the roof. He sighed and tapped his desk.

"Call Glynda." He ordered. A slight ringtone appeared before Glynda's face showed up on screen.

"Glynda-" Ozpin began

"No time Ozpin! Raven and Qrow just went through the Dimensional gate! I need to get down there! Let's talk later!" She exclaimed before shutting her phone off.

Ozpin stared ahead blankly for a few moments before standing. He picked up his coffee mug and walked towards the window overlooking Vytal. A thriving city that never slept. He took a long sip of coffee. He exhaled, letting the scent of coffee reach his nostrils. He took a deep breath. He held it for a few seconds before opening his mouth

"SUMMER ROSE!" he shouted.

Summer turned as she heard the scream. She sighed. "Don't those two the meaning of the word discrete?" She wondered as she walked to her daughter's room. She wanted to see Ruby one last time before the mission began, and at least try to resolve the rift that had grown between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So second chapter! It came out on Fanfiction last week but I think i will update them at the same time from now on, so another chapter tomorrow.
> 
> I'd like to apologize for the short chapters, I am growing as a writer so I hope I will be able to make longer ones as I continue!
> 
> If you have time, please review, You have no idea how much it helps. Another story I am working on recently got several reviews with ideas, some are being integrated into the story (easy as it's episodic). Even if they aren't knowing what you think I need to improve on helps.
> 
> Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Jaune had been explaining their mission to his team when they heard Ozpin's scream.

"Jeez, wonder what that's about." Nora asked. Her short red hair bouncing as she jumped on her bed.

The rooms were spacious, four beds sat through the room. The room was square in shape, the walls made of steel. Pictures of friends and family hung from the walls, as did pictures of events that had shaped them. Jaune smiled at the thought of when they had all first been grouped together. He had grown a lot since the time, so long ago.

"Just the regular I think." Ren said calmly. Ren had changed very little since he and Jaune had first met. He still wore his green jacket and Kahkis. his jacket was a deep green color as well. For whatever reason, he still dyed a strip of hair pink. Jaune thought Nora insisted on it.

Jaune looked down at his hands. He had removed his armor, In truth he dislike wearing such heavy plate mail, but admitted that the technological advancements did make up for the bulk and general discomfort. He thought back to his last mission, the armor had saved his life. He sighed thinking of how far he still had to go before he would be comfortable with his title of knight-commander. It meant his team was formally beyond standard chains of command, senior officers could not order them to do anything. They reported only to the Head Commander and the Lord General, Summer and Ozpin respectively.

Sensing his discomfort, Pyrrha crossed from her bed to his. Her red silk dress flowing behind her "You're not alone." she said quietly turning to look at him. Jaune looked at Ren. Ren understood the message immediately. He stood and grabbed Nora's arm.

"C'mon Nora; they're serving pancakes in a kitchen." He said, Nora spun to him a glance of excitement .

"Why the kitchen?" She asked, a faint hint of confusion on her face.

"Last time you ate in the Cafeteria you stole everyone else's pancakes." Ren replied, rolling his eyes. He dragged Nora out of the room. As the door closed Nora could still be heard asking a multitude of questions.

"Some things never change." Jaune said, chuckling lightly

Pyrrha cupped his chin in her hand and gently turned his head towards her. He looked at her in the eyes. Those eyes could do many things; they could terrify opponents with a simple glare or cause others to weep with a pitying glance. For Jaune however, the look in those eyes caused his heart to melt he stared into her eyes. They were like emeralds, a hint of sadness in them, knowledge of what would never be.

"Some things should." Pyrrha whispered, pressing her lips onto his own. Her eyes closed. She wrapped one of her arms around his neck as the other fell away from his chin. Jaune for his part wrapped his arms around her, savoring every moment. He held her closely and deepened the kiss.

They stayed that way for only a few moments, but to them it felt like much longer. When they finally released each other's lips for air, they still held each other closely. Pyrrha rested her head on Jaune's shoulder. Jaune stroked her hair gently.

Jaune did not look down, but knew instinctively that Pyrrha had started to weep.

"Perhaps once Fenrir…" She began barely daring to even think about the Wolf.

"Perhaps, but your father… I doubt such a thing matters to him." Jaune said calmly, struggling to keep the hint of anger from his voice.

Pyrrha turned her head to look at him. "Once we destroy Fenrir, my father will have no choice." She said fiercely. Jaune smiled at her, that lopsided grin that she had fallen in love with. Pyrrha smiled slightly, a hint of sadness in it. She looked back down at the ground "He should not have a choice." She muttered as her smile turned into a glowering scowl. At this Jaune frowned too, feeling Pyrrha's anger. He distinctly remembered the humiliation when Zeus had rejected him in favor of another. He remembered the duel with the suitor that followed, he recalled felling his foe and even then, after proving Zeus wrong in every way, Zeus still rejected him, calling Jaune unworthy of his daughter. Jaune had almost laughed.

Anyone else, anyone but the Four Maidens would not have had to listen to their parents' opinions on whom they loved, whom they married. But Zeus wanted a political marriage and the laws about who the maidens could marry were so ingrained in tradition that it became nigh impossible to change them. Jaune struggled to meet the criteria, but now after countless years of effort all he now needed was Zeus's approval.

"You would make weak children" Zeus had said when he had rejected Jaune's request. Such concepts were beyond old-fashioned. Pyrrha wanted none of it and ever since, had refused to meet any suitors. Those who made the extra effort to see her, to try to woo her soon realized their grave error. Generally Pyrrha left them in the care of a doctor. For those who still did not comprehend her words, Nora was exceptionally skilled at explaining such things in a more… aggressive way.

Even Ozpin had sneered in disgust at Zeus's decision. Summer had offered to help, but judging by the expression on her face and the fact her body was trembling with barely bottled rage Jaune presumed she meant to castrate the man. Jaune had refused, saying he would prove himself. Pyrrha was worth it.

It had been decades since then. He had grown into one of the most powerful Guardians, He had led armies to victories none thought possible. The name of Arc had ascended as well. Placed on a pedestal for his feats his sisters married men (and in two cases women), of considerable stature. Several had even married into Houses that could be considered of high nobility. One of his elder sisters had married into the Fall Family. A former maiden house itself, past it's prime, but known for having some of the deadliest warriors in Vytal.

Still none of it mattered. His friendship with the Daughter of the Summer Maiden and High-Commander would have brought most opponents to their knees. The Winchester family formally apologized in public for Cardin's bullying after Summer had been promoted. Weiss Schnee's unveiling as the Winter Maiden strengthened the House of Arc by association, but did nothing to make Zeus yield.

Jaune felt a hand stroke his face. "Forget about me?" Pyrrha asked playfully raising herself to his eye level. Jaune smiled "never." He replied Pyrrha kissed him again, this time for longer. The kiss was deeper and it took all of Jaune's will not to do what he desired then and there.

He would not have been surprised to find that Pyrrha felt the same.

Slowly, they separated. Pyrrha stood, smoothing of the creases of her clothes and walked towards the door. She turned around and smiled. "Better get prepared Jaune, we're hunting Fenrir." She said playfully. She walked slowly, he hips swaying as she reached the door, opened it and quietly closed it behind her.

"Damn it." Jaune said lying on his bed. After several hundred years how did she still do this to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shout out to AndreiNOOB who caught a reference to plot-relevant Nordic Mythology MUCH earlier than I really expected anyone to as well as notifying me that my spelling of Jormungandr (spelled Jormungand in-story) is wrong, that will be corrected. 
> 
> So yeah, I made ARKOS happen in this story. I thought eventually Pyrrha would just spill her feelings to Jaune eventually assuming they had that kind of time in cannon. It made sense in my mind. Other popular ships will happen, but romance and love are not major parts of the plot at this point; they are more of a motivator for specific decisions, which of course have consequences, good and bad.
> 
> Have a great week, and please follow, favorite and review!


	4. Ruby, Yang and Blake

Ruby!" Yang shouted charging up to her younger sister. Ruby tunred and looked at Yang with a look of slight disapproval. Ruby's eyes shone silver but today there was tiredness in them. She wore her hair in a ponytail with the front loose, Her bangs framing her face. Ruby crossed her arms and attempted to pout. It was adorable but didn't really work when ruby was in combat armor

"You're going to see her again aren't you?" Yang asked. Pointing at Ruby slightly. Ruby glancing at yang's right arm was all the answer she needed. She flexed her Robotic arm it looked almost real but she nonetheless always wore armor over it, The artificial skin didn't agree with Yang's combat style.

"I'm coming too then. She is my partner." Yang said placing her hands on her hips. Ruby looked at her in the eyes. It was a lot easier now that Ruby was as tall as Yang.

Yang thought about those memories when their team was whole. She could feel the tears welling up inside her. She pushed them back down. And forced a smile on her face.

Clapping an arm down on Ruby she grinned "No time like the present to see the pretty kitty!" Ruby rolled her eyes.

"yes, yes let's go." Ruby replied. She turned to the large steel door in front of her. Ruby pulled a data card out of her pocket and slid it through the reader.

"Card scanned. Visual, vocal and aural identification required" And electronic voice said.

"Knight-Commander Ruby Rose." Ruby said in an authoritative voice. Yang nodded, she had come along way from using that voice when she proclaimed that she drank milk. Summer still had a copy. She showed it at Ruby's promotion ceremony. The consequences were… predictable, but no less amusing; especially not to Yang.

"Voice confirmed please place your hand on the scanner." The electronic voice said as a small tablet with a pam printe don it slid from the wall. Ruby placed her hand on it and waited for the sound of humming to begin. She turned to her sister "Yang when we get in there, please no puns." Ruby asked seriously. Yang grinned and cocked her head.

"Why not, we should start our conversations of with a Yang!"

Ruby shook her head "They get worse every year." She said despondently.

"Hey! Turn that frown upside down sis! Things are looking up!"

"For you maybe." Ruby muttered as she looked down at the ground.

Yang could only recall there last few missions. What had happened, what they had lost and what scars they had brought back. Yang desperately wanted her sister back, they one who would pout and then laugh about cookies. Not the one in front of her, the leader that Guardians fantasized about. For most people she was the Ideal leader, powerful, decisive and could think on her feat. Yang didn't care, Ruby was a good leader before, now she was a great leader, but not all that amazing a person.

"Scan complete, Knight-Commander Ruby Rose, access granted to see inmate 236-571 seventh floor detention. Use of Caution strongly advised." The door hissed open as Ruby stepped away from it. Ruby and Yang walked inside and heard the door shut behind them. Pitch blackness slowly gave way as fluorescent lighting lit the cells. Yang looked around. The place hadn't changed much. Armed guards on high alert, their blue combat uniforms and segmented plate vests always clean. They carried guns firing energized Dust rounds. Yang had never been hit by one, but supposedly they would have put even her down for the count after one hit. She was glad she never would have to take a round.

Yang followed ruby to the nearby cylindrical glass elevator. As they walked in the door closed.

'Prisoner number please" the electronic voice from before spoke.

"Would it kill them to change the voice once we get inside?" Yang asked. Ruby's response was a brief glare, but she said nothing.

"prisoner number 236-571" Ruby said calmly. The elevator burst to life and quickly rose. A few seconds later the door hissed open and ruby and Yang stepped out onto the cement floor. Lights flicked on and Yang noticed a new plate of glass had been installed, Yang looked into the cell in front of them. It was hardly pleasant. There was a small coffee table and a sofa that folded out into a bed. There was a desk and a small lamp. Ton all three walls of the cell was bookcases. Piles of books from many different worlds and dimensions littered the shelves. Lastly there was a tattered rug on the floor. A woman sat, cross-legged on the rug in a meditative pose. She wore a pitch-black yukata with a pale white belt. Her black hair flowed to her waist. She looked resolute a calm. As if her cell, instead of a prison was a temple where she found serenity.

The woman smiled, her cat ears twitching at the new noise of footsteps.

"It has been a while Ruby. Thank you so much for the books, they keep me entertained." She said as she stood eyes still closed. Yang looked over her partners body, the yukata certainly complimented her figure, loose or tight in all the right laces to give just a hint at what laid beneath.

"Yang." She said

"Blake…" Yang muttered, feeling a wave of shame and guilt crash down on her. Blake for her part smiled as she neared the glass.

"It has been a long time, I've missed you." Blake purred as her hand touched the glass. She inhaled, reliving a memory of a time long past.

"I miss your touch, your laugh, your scent." She said. Yang felt herself shaking as she remembered those times as well.

"I've missed you too." It was all Yang was willing to admit to. Ruby glanced at her and shook her head.

"Blake, We are going out on a mission. Any new book requests?" Ruby asked mechanically as she always did.

"I wish you could hold in my arms again Yang, feel you hair, the warmth of your skin." Blake continued ignoring Ruby entirely. "But that can never happen now." Blake finished fiercely. Her eyes burst open and her piercing gaze caused Yang to freeze. Regardless of however many time Yang had seen those eyes they still always caused her to tremble. The whites of her eyes had turned pitch black and her once yellow eyes had turned a crimson red.

"Enough." Ruby ordered.

Blake turned to look at Ruby. Fixing her with a gaze Blake smirked. "Afraid of your own teammate?" She asked.

"You are not yourself." Ruby responded

"that's not an answer." Blake said

'your corruption-"

"Answer me Ruby!" Blake shouted. Glaring daggers. "Are you afraid of me? Of what I will do? Why am I kept here?"

"You are kept here for your own safety." Ruby answered "And the safety of others. The Corruption is dangerous, it led to the fall of Valhalla, and it cannot be allowed into the realm of the gods again."

Blake's face fell slightly. She slowly turned to Yang "And you? DO you believe I am a threat? That I would ever hurt my friends, my family, the people I love?"

Yang could feel the gaze of Ruby and Blake upon her; she knew what she wanted to say, what she wanted to do. But she couldn't do that, not to Ruby, not when Yang was the only team she had left.

So Yang did what she could do, she looked at Blake. "Blake would never hurt her friends, not if she had a choice."

It clearly was the wrong answer. Blake's eyes broke away from her, trying to look anywhere else.

"So you think so too." Blake muttered.

"Blake, no…" Yang said, trying to find words to explain what she felt. She turned to Ruby. "Can you give us a few minutes?" She asked.

"Yang. She's dangerous, I know you-"

"Please Rubes, just a few minutes." Yang begged.

Ruby looked at her for what seemed like ages. Eventually Ruby sighed, "Fine, but I will be outside. If I hear anything and I mean anything out of the ordinary, I will come back in." She said. She gabbed Yang's collar and yanked he rover "Do not go in there, I can't let you out if you do." Ruby whispered, Yang knew the unspoken words behind the warning, the unspoken plea not to abandon her. Some of Rubes is still in there. Yang thought. She nodded and Ruby released her sister before trudging back to the elevator and closing the door. She notably did not go down, instead waiting inside.

Blake smiled and looked back at Yang, a sultry smile playing on her lips.

"So what did you want to talk about?" She asked

"I don't think you're a monster." Yang blurted out, struggling to put her feelings into a coherent sentence. Blake crossed her arms and stroked her hair. "What exactly am I then?"

Yang had no answer. "I don't now." She admitted. Blake laughed, before looking back at her, this time instead of a terrifying glare, her eyes were smiling.

"Still the same as always. I guess I can't offer you a cup of coffee?" She offered. Yang shook her head sadly.

"What's happening in the outside world? How is Summer and Ruby's relationship?" Blake asked trying to push them off the topic, much to Yang's pleasure.

"Summer and Ruby have hit a bit of a rough spot, arguments over whether Ruby is prepared for standalone clearing jobs and whatnot. Summer pulled rank, it hurt Ruby a lot. I don't think they've talked since."

Blake shook her head before she turned and walked to the sofa. She sat down, spreading her arms over the back of the sofa. She let her legs fall where they may. Yang couldn't help but follow Blake's body with her eyes.

"It sounds like a bit more than a rough spot. Will they work it out?" Blake asked, a hint of concern in her voice. Yang shrugged, "couldn't say, they used to be very close." Unlike me and Raven Yang thought briefly, wishing that she new a little bit more about her own mother.

"What about the outside world?" Blake asked, noticing Yang's discomfort.

"Fenrir as appeared again." Yang said. Blake's eyes shot wide open at that. Her posture tensed and her ears perked up.

"Summer going after it?" Blake asked.

"Team JNPR and Team RWBY are assigned to the mission as a recon team." Yang said, a hint of pride in her voice. "Never thought our team would make it that big did you?" She said pointing a thumb at herself.

Blake stood up and walked to the glass wall again.

"Yang, do not go. Turn this down." Blake said, suddenly all serious.

Yang looked at her, "What do you mean."

"None of you are ready. In fact tell JNPR to turn this down too." Yang shook her head.

"They wouldn't refuse this mission with Jaune and Pyrrha-"

Blake almost slammed her head against the wall in frustration. "Just let those two screw each other, they probably already are anyway." Blake groaned.

"I lost money on that bet. They aren't" Yang said glumly.

"You're missing the point. This mission will get you all killed. Fenrir tore Valhalla apart! Ozpin was viewed as a minor god before that happened. Do you really think any of you can fight Fenrir on equal terms? Let alone kill him?"

"We can only try, we can't abandon our friends." Yang replied. She knew their chances were low, but they had to try anyway. They were guardians they were supposed to protect people, even at the cost of their own lives.

"Please don't do this Yang." Blake begged as she pushed against the glass wall. "Don't do this not to me."

"I have to."

"You don't have to do anything! You were the one who taught me that."

"This I do."

"Why?" Blake asked. She looked at Yang for only a few moments before a sad smile came to her face. "You always were an overprotective sister." She said weakly.

"I can't let Ruby face this on her own. Vomit Boy and Company isn't a suitable substitute for her own team."

"Even when half the team is missing or in prison?"

"Even then."

"That's what I love about you, you never give up."

Yang smiled.

Blake smiled back. The stood their for a few moments, admiring each other and recalling what they had gone through together. An impatient harrumph from the elevator told Yang she was out of time

"I'll be back." Yang said finally "Fenrir will be dead, and the Corruption will vanish, things will be a little closer to how they were."

"I'll keep you to that." Blake replied. She turned as Yang left, but looked over her shoulder, she watched Yang leave by the elevator. She counted to ten.

'You can come out now." Blake said calmly. Out of the Shadows, Summer Rose appeared.

"Your good at this. Any pointers for cloak and dagger stuff?" Summer asked cheerfully.

'Why are you here?" Blake demanded. Summer shook her head.

"Are you always so serious? Well I guess it makes sense that you are all hot and bothered."

Blake arched an eyebrow as she turned to face Summer directly. The woman smiled back at her. Her silver eyes glistening as the darkness spread again, casting her in shadow.

"How would you like to be let out?" Summer asked.

Blake froze, looking at the woman like she was insane.

"It's simple, kill Fenrir and the corruption vanishes completely, as long as Fenrir ends up dead it's all good." Summer explained.

"Yang and Ruby are there for recon."

'You know them just as well as I do. They won't stop at recon, when they see Fenrir they will try to kill it and I for one don't want my daughters killed."

"Yang is Raven's you know."

'I still think of her as my daughter even if I am not her biological mother."

"So why would you let her into danger?"

"I can't stop Ozpin, but I can bring in some help. Qrow and Raven are already in Remnant."

"I'll never be allowed back in Vytal. I'll be branded a traitor, destined to be hunted forever"

" I think you'll find good company if that happens to be the case." Summer replied, a hint of sorrow in her voice. "Once Fenrir is dead there will be no more use for the guardians, the gods will likely disperse. Where you reside is up to you."

"Will Ruby-"

"She won't know until you are there, by which time it will be too late." Summer replied, a slight grin on her face. She turned and walked away.

"It starts in five minutes. Make your choice and live with it." Summer said. She turned her head "I bet Yang will be looking forward to seeing you again." Blake gazed at Summer a look of wonder on her face. Summer left the sound of her heels clacking on the cement floor of the cell. Blake heard a gust of wind and Summer was gone. Blake turned to the fold out bed and smiled widely. She looked down at where until mere moments ago Summer Rose had stood. There, quite conveniently, laid her precious weapon and her older Intruder outfit. The crisp white jacket looked freshly pressed and even her old boots looked like they had been polished Summer truly did know how to make an escape convenient.

Blake waited, slowly counting down the seconds as she planned her escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> More chapters will be on their way. I will release two chapters next week and start making these chapters longer. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Have a great week!


	5. Branwen

Raven wait up." Qrow muttered weakly.

"We're here for a job." Raven said in a commanding tone. She wore a red and black kimono, her odachi slung over her shoulder.

"Then maybe you should explain why you dragged me here, I was grounded." Qrow argued trying to catch up with his sister. Damn cape, why d I even have you? He thought as he yanked furiously on the small piece of fabric. The were in the middle of the woods. While there was a mixture of mud and grass on the ground, the number of tree roots were absolutely stunning. The area was overgrown with old tree branches reaching low to the ground. The trees gnarled with age, who knew when this first had begun to grow but Qrow estimated some of these trees to be almost a thousand years old.

Raven paused and turned to stare at her brother. She smiled slightly. This kind of thing was so typical of him. He'd piss and moan about being assigned a recon job but when push came to shove, there was absolutely no one she would prefer to have by her side in a fight.

The fact that he was so damn gullible when it came to her helped. She chuckled slightly at the time she had convinced him his escapades had gotten out of hand. He had reacted in a most entertaining way. Vowing to do the honorable things and pay for his illegitimate children's wellbeing. Summer had brought it a little to far when she jokingly claimed he had seduced half the women on the planet. Raven almost screamed when he had actually believed her. He had sworn off alcohol ever since. His attempts to convince him he did not have so many kids had also failed miserably. Unfortunately he had kept flirting with women left and right. She swore Yang's flirtatious nature came from him.

The thought of Yang brought back thoughts of her former lover. Her heart sank and she felt the hole in her heart yet again.

"Sis you okay?" Qrow asked looking up at her.

'Fine Qrow." She said quickly.

"Raven, I know this isn't the best time but we still haven't talked about-"

'I said I'm fine Qrow. Leave it." She snapped.

Qrow looked at her. "I'm here if you need me sis, don't forget that."

Raven nodded before she turned to head of down the route she was heading before. You have no idea how important that is to me. She thought quietly.

She had left Taiyang soon after Yang had been born. At that point Qrow had begged her to stay, but she had said no. She had important work to do and odds were that one day she wouldn't come back. She didn't want her daughter to go through that same pain that she and Qrow had experienced.

She had been a fool. Taiyang's heart was broken and for years Raven was to prideful to apologize to him or Yang. Too prideful to thank Summer for taking care of Yang as well as Ruby. Then, when the Grimm had entered Vytal in numbers never seen since the Fall of Valhalla, Taiyang had done exactly what was expected of him. He fought on the frontlines. She had made a promise to herself that day that she would not ask for forgiveness or a chance to atone, she would beg for one. When the Grimm were stopped from destroying Vytal she would beg on her hands a knees in front of Taiyang, in front of the world if need be, for a chance to talk to her daughter, for a chance to apologize, to try to make it right. Anything less would be an insult. She had abandoned them, not the other way around.

Not even Qrow could comprehend her emotions when she saw Taiyang's body. Every part of her went limp; her iron will broke, for the first time in hundreds of years she wept. She knew what she was then, what Summer had that she lacked. She hadn't gone to visit Yang afterwards, to try to comfort her daughter. No, Qrow had gone in her stead. For nearly year, she had done nothing but fight anything to get her mind off Taiyang to get her mind of the corpse of the man she loved. She kept moving forward. Qrow had dragged her out of her slump, had tried to cheer her up with antics That would make most men plush with embarrassment. It had helped.

She had reached out to Summer about talking with Yang soon after. The two had met a few times, but things were still tense. Yang had Ruby to worry about, the Team leader had made shockwaves in Vytal, many considered her a likely successor to her mother in due time, She was utterly Ruthless on the Battlefield and able to make decisive decisions. But raven saw her own gaze reflected in those silver eyes; the same feelings of loss, the same feelings of failure and weakness. She could only imagine what would happen to Ruby if Yang hadn't been there.

So she had decided that while she couldn't be there for yang as a mother she would be there for Yang in other ways, she would protect what little family yang had left even if it cost Raven her life.

'Vytal to Raven, you awake? Qrow asked, snapping raven out of her thoughts. She looked up, The sun was setting she must have zoned out for half a day.

"What's up Qrow?" Raven asked gently. Qrow put a finger to his lips.

"We have company." He whispered. He pointed at a lone figure in the middle of a clearing, or more precisely and ashen ruin. The trees had turned to cinders and the smell of smoke was pervasive. Qrow gripped his scythe preparing to draw it. Raven gently rested her hand on his arm.

"No need" she said gently. Smiling. The figure was too distant to be described, but Raven had a feeling that Summer had sent them a third member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter spans a few other chapters, one of which will be released in coming weeks.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, not my greatest, but I'm working on improving, so reviews are loved!
> 
> Also I will release the next chapter tomorrow. Later chapters will usually be in the 2000-3000 word range. Also early thanks to Roxy Fan 4 Ever for helping with plot ideas. I'm really looking forward to where this goes. Just got to finish these accursed character introductions!
> 
> For more of my stories check out RWBY Meets world which the premise is What would Hunters/ huntresses do in the real world? It's set in Japan so there is even more added fun!
> 
> Please comment if you get the chance! I love to hear people's opinions


	6. Fenrir

Fenrir was having a good day. In fact, he was having a great day. This day could not have gone wrong. Fenrir was quite pleased with himself. He had found clothes money a small plastic thing called a "credit card" and was now sitting at a café about to enjoy a double fudge chocolate milkshake with cookie crumbles and whipped cream.

The day had started out well actually. He had wandered into a nearby town. It was cozy, quiet and calm. The houses were wooden and had thatched roofs. Children were playing in the fields and he could smell the scent of bacon seeping from the chimneys.

Someone in there knows how to cook he thought. He missed bacon. It had been one of his favorite foods. He loved food in general. Meat mostly, raw or cooked was good with him, but cooked bacon… put it in a sliced bagel and add a fried egg and it was to die for. Hell, if Thor had offered him one maybe he would have come back to destroy Valhalla another day.

He sniffed the air as a buttery smell wafted to his nose. He followed it dreamily.

Could it be? Do they have them? It has been eons since I could even taste one. Oh please let that smell be what I think it is… he thought quickly, absentmindedly forgetting the Beowolves following him. He wandered over to a glass window on the side of a nearby house. His eyes lit up as he saw the plate, the doughy cakes of goodness. Thin and golden brown. "Pancakes…" He whispered in awe. He saw a woman, tall with brown hair place a jar with a thick brown liquid down next to the plate. "Maple syrup!" He gasped, it was a miracle, it was Christmas, his (non-existent) birthday, Hanukah and a variety of other gift giving holidays all wrapped into one. The very fact such a miracle had appeared before him left him shocked. He stared in wonder as a small child, no older than five sat at the table and began to feast on the pancakes.

Fenrir heard his stomach grumble. He looked down and wished for some pancakes. "Maybe later." He mused as he turned around. Something was in the air. He sniffed experimentally; something was burning. He couldn't place his finger on what. He followed the smell around the corner of the house.

That was when he heard the first scream. He looked on to see the Beowolves rampaging through the town, knocking down doors and tearing people apart left and right. Fenrir's heart sank.

"No pancakes for me." He said glumly.

'What on remnant?" He heard a voice ask. He looked up. And saw the woman from before, her child clutching her hand. Fenrir smiled a little.

"Do you have any clothes?" He asked. His wolf ears twitching slightly. The woman looked on at him staring as if at a being with three heads. "Behind you." Fenrir said pointing behind the woman. She turned to see the claw of a Beowulf strike her right in the head. Blood flew and Fenrir could hear the child's scream. He shook his head. "I wanted them alive, I need clothes." He muttered before he left the Beowolf to his bloody, raw meal.

That had been this morning in a nutshell. A lot of chaos and blood, but fortunately, there wasn't really anyone to complain when he had taken clothes and piles of cash. He had also picked up something called a scroll. It had taken awhile to get used to calling them that, he was so used to calling them phones from his previous times where such advanced electronics had been developed. But he thought he was getting used to the idea.

"Excuse me." A voice said. Fenrir was dragged back to the present. He had just walked into a small café that had pictures of milkshakes on the outside. He had entered without a second thought. Fenrir looked up at the waiter, a middle aged balding main who appeared to have a sweating problem, His dress shirt and black slacks were drenched and the man reeked.

Fenrir wrinkled his nose, doing his best to ignore the smell. "Yes." He asked politely, suspecting that was the quickest way to get his milkshake.

"We don't serve your kind here." The Waiter said briskly. Fenrir cocked an eyebrow.

"How curious, and what do you know about my kind?"

'You Faunus beasts are the scum of the earth, your all terrorists, supporters of the White Fang, you aren't fit to be a customer here." The waiter said quivering in rage.

"And how do you know I am a …Faunus?" Fenrir asked in honest curiosity. The waiter stared at him before pointing at his head "do you think I'm as stupid as you mutt?"

Well he's on my list Fenrir thought quickly before looking upwards and wiggling his wolf ears. He grinned wolfishly. "Oh, these…" he said. "I don't see how these could be a problem."

"Listen you mutt! I don't want your kind spreading fleas in my business place! Get-" The man began

Fenrir rose quickly and grabbed the man by his throat. "All I want is a milkshake. Give me one, I'll pay and be gone." He said calmly as the man's eyes widened. Fenrir leaned in "Call me Mutt again however, I and I doubt the White Fang, whoever they are will have much of a business to terrorize." He hissed. It wasn't his best threat, he was clearly out of practice, but it seemed to get the point across.

A few moments later Fenrir was outside the café, the door slammed behind him. Fenrir smiled, he was holding a milkshake.

"Well at least it isn't a complete loss." Fenrir muttered cheerfully as he slowly sipped from the milkshake's straw. Within moments his eyes widened and his face screwed up in disgust. He spat out the milkshake making retching noises as he stared at the plastic cup in his hand like it contained a mixture of worms, mud and spoiled milk. "Bleh! Who drinks this stuff?"

He spun and threw the milkshake at the door causing it to splatter and create a huge mess. He shook his head and strode away. He had no time to deal with that fool. Especially since he needed time to think of a creative and suitable revenge. Such a crime was unforgiveable. The racist idiot had given him the wrong milkshake.

"Who drinks Vanilla anyway?" Fenrir muttered as he tried to find a diner to get the taste of the vile concoction out of his mouth.

It didn't take long for Fenrir to find a diner, however it appeared to be impossible to find a diner that didn't have a "no Faunus" Sign plastered on the front door. By the time he was thrown out of his third diner for being in the words of various manager and waiters "Faunus trash" he was beginning to debate whether the Faunus could do anything fun or enjoyable in this world. He also wondered where the White Fang were; maybe signing up with them wouldn't be so bad.

He was walking down the street when he slammed into a ginger headed girl. He fell backwards onto the ground.

"What the-"

'Ren! They're so CUTE!" The girl howled. She looked down at Fenrir, pointing a finger at his wolf ears.

"Huh?" Fenrir asked clearly confused. The girl was bubbly and had a huge smile on her face. Her outfit was white and pink. She wore pink sneakers. What struck Fenrir the most however was the fact that this girl was carrying a massive hammer.

"Nora! It's rude to knock people over on the street!" A boy wearing green ran up. He offered a hand, which Fenrir took. This boy had raven hair with a pink streak that was presumably dyed that color.

He pulled Fenrir form the ground.

"Sorry about Nora she can be a little… excitable" The boy, presumably Ren apologized.

"It isn't a problem." Fenrir said, trying to maintain his manners.

"What are you doing out here wolfy?" Nora asked

'Nora!" Ren chided her, shocked that she would say something so offensive.

Fenrir laughed. "I'm looking for a place to eat, they don't seem real friendly round here." He said lightly.

"That makes sense, this is the outskirts of Mistral, near the Vale border, they aren't friendly to outsiders." Ren explained.

"I suppose. Doesn't explain the signs though." Fenrir mused, wondering if Faunus was a word for outsiders, he was pretty sure it had to do with his wolf ears, but maybe not.

"Racism still exists, it is tragically a part of being ignorant." Ren said shaking his head in disgust.

Fenrir shrugged. 'I just wanted pancakes."

'YOU LOVE PANCAKES TOO?!" Nora squealed. Fenrir spun to look at her. Her eyes were wide, like a child who had just experienced Christmas for the first time. He nodded emphatically, a small smile tugging on his lips.

"Love them. Bacon is a close second." He said

"Ren! We gotta find a pancake place! Jaune and Ruby will want to eat when they get back!"

Ren shifted uncomfortably, Nora edged closer to him. "Reeeennn" She sang. Ren shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Fine Nora, We'll get pancakes." He conceded.

"Boo yah! Lets go eat pancakes… um…ah… what's your name?" Nora asked quickly, hugging Ren from behind.

"Fenrir." Fenrir responded casually. "Feel free to call me Fen for short."


	7. Jaune and Blake

Jaune strode towards the remains of Shade Tower. Pyrrha, dressed in her old Spartan armor was on his left. Ren and Nora walked behind him bantering with each other in a cheerful way. For Jaune however, this mission was everything; if he could prove to Zeus that he was worthy, if he destroyed Fenrir, he couldn't think anything else could be called a happy ending.

Pyrrha looked at him with concern. She knew that look. She had seen it thousands of times. She had seen it when a horde of Grimm charged them she had seen it when the Grimm had overrun a planet they were supposed to defend, she had seen it when Jaune had reluctantly ordered soldiers to their deaths, all to stop the Grimm from killing hundreds of thousands more. It was the look he had when he was resolved to make the tough decisions, the ones that kept him up at night, the ones that no one should have to bear.

Pyrrha placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder. "You don't need to worry Jaune, nobody will be hurt on this mission. Its just a recon mission."

"No it's not Pyrrha." Jaune said, stopping abruptly and turning to her. Ren and Nora circled around to Pyrrha's side.

"Pyrrha this is Fenrir, the Great Wolf. To say this is just a recon mission is absurd. This is the mother of all recon missions."

'Relax Jaune, were ready, we'll do our job and get out. We are gods after all." Pyrrha said fiercely, a smile on her face.

Jaune laughed with mirth. "Pyrrha, we may be gods but we are not immortal. We are talking about Fenrir. A Grimm who killed nearly all the Great Gods with his bare hands."

"The road to Fenrir is a long one Jaune, we don't have the answers we seek, but we will and then we will face Fenrir. We will stop him this time." Ren said, confidence showing on his face.

Jaune looked them all in the eye. His gaze scanning from one to another before his eyes finally laid to rest on Pyrrha. He looked into her emerald eyes for what felt like hours, but was truly only moments.

"If… if any of you…" Jaune began, his façade of strength and courage beginning to crack.

"We will all come back, Jaune." Pyrrha said grasping his hand and walking closer to him. "We all made a promise, we would stand together." She said, a playful smirk appearing on her lips.

"Nora!" Nora shouted. Appearing near the two of them. Jaune almost tumbled over and Pyrrha practically leapt backwards.

"Nora! Don't ruin their romantic moments." Ren scolded.

Nora put het hands on her hips. "It's a big deal! You know how it always goes in books and movies! The big mission and promises to return!" She exclaimed pointing at Jaune and then Pyrrha. She looked angry and for a second Jaune wondered how he was going to avoid the wrath of the infamous Valkyrie.

As it happened he wouldn't have to. Nora's face turned from anger to sadness as tears welled in her eyes "It always happens that way! And then… And then…" She started to hiccup. "They don't come back." She whispered still sobbing.

"Nora…" Pyrrha began. Trying to console her teammate and friend.

Jaune placed a hand on Nora's head and ruffled her hair. She looked at him and he forced a goofy grin to appear on his face. "Nobody is going to die not while I'm around, Team JNPR is invincible."

Nora looked at Jaune for a few moments. Tears still flowed from her eyes. She hiccupped before wrapping her arms around Jaune and crying into his shoulder. Her sobs dripping into the openings in his armor. Jaune glanced at Ren wondering exactly what he should do. He had seen Nora sad, but actually crying? Never.

Ren simply smiled calmly and nodded at Jaune. Jaune slowly wrapped his arms around Nora, patting her back as she hiccupped.

"We'll be fine. We will all be fine. I promise Nora." Jaune said quietly.

"This is Fenrir, how do you know?" She whispered, still sobbing. Her vice like grip on Jaune weakened. Jaune gently pushed her away from him, holding her by the shoulders. "Remember Nora, an Arc never goes back on his promise." He said, trying to sound more confident than he actually was. At this Nora stopped crying and smiled weakly.

"You promise?" She asked.

"I promise." Jaune said. Nora nodded. Suddenly she pointed her finger at him, one hand on her hip. "I will hold you to that Knight-Commander Jaune Arc!" She said cheerfully. All trace of her sadness forgotten.

Pyrrha walked up to Jaune once again and intertwined her fingers with his. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze. Jaune felt himself relax just a bit. He looked on as Nora playfully hugged Ren and started to ruffle his hair.

"Nora never ceases to amaze." Jaune remarked.

"I know, it's amazing when you think of what the two of them have been through." Pyrrha agreed. Jaune did not respond instead taking the time to watch his friends laugh and smile.

"I'm holding you to that promise too." Pyrrha said gently. Jaune chuckled slightly. Pyrrha turned to him a look of concern on her face. "I know that chuckle… what's wrong. Don't keep these things to yourself."

Jaune looked at her for a long time, several emotions flickering on his face. I was clear to all that he was conflicted about discussing this.

"Do you remember when you asked me about if I believed in destiny?" Jaune asked her.

"yes." Pyrrha replied, wanting to see where the conversation went.

"Do you also remember when I said you were my destiny, right before you became the Fall Maiden?" Jaune asked, remember how pathetic that had sounded.

"And my reaction when my Father said no." Pyrrha noted darkly. The day Jaune proposed had gone from one of, if not the happiest day in her life to one of the worst.

"I am starting to wonder if destiny isn't coming around again. If we have another shot at that goal."

"Don't think like that. Destiny isn't a road we follow and it isn't an end." Pyrrha warned. "Don't forget our mission isn't to kill Fenrir, but to observe it."

"And kill it if we get that chance." Jaune argued.

Pyrrha let go of his hand. "Jaune, you are a lot stronger than you were. But don't overestimate yourself.

"Bet you never thought you would warn him about being overconfident." A voice in the background said. Pyrrha turned to see Yang and Ruby approach. Both were fully armed. Yang was in golden scale mail below which she wore black shorts and a yellow, loose fitting short sleeved shirt. Ruby in traditional uniform, covered with her signature red cloak. On her back she carried her two weapons. Ruby nodded in greeting. Nora and Ren stopped and turned to look at them.

"They haven't released her have they?" Jaune asked quietly. Looking at Yang. Yang gently shook her head.

"Blake won't be on this mission." She said weakly.

'it's for the best. Commander Rose knows what she's doing." Ruby said. Jaune cringed as he heard her talk about her mother so distantly. Are things that bad? He thought.

"Well let's start this mission off with a bang!" Nora exclaimed.

"I'd rather start it off with a yang!" Yang quipped.

Everyone groaned.

Suddenly the earth below them shook, they scrambled to stay standing. Alarms blared from the tower.

"What the hell was that?" Jaune asked.

"The alarm is for a prisoner escape." Pyrrha said quickly. "the explosion came from the tower!"

"The prison tower? No way it's too far for this amount of force." Ruby said.

Nora pointed towards the to of shade tower, where their transport to Remnant was located. There was smoke coming from a gaping hole.

"How we missed that is anyone's guess." Yang muttered.

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Damn you Blake." She muttered. Yang spun to look at Ruby "Blake's in jail!" She exclaimed.

"Clearly not." Ruby responded before vanishing in a flutter of rose petals.

"Does anyone think her power is still too nice for the new Ice Commander?" Nora asked. Jaune, Ren, Pyrrha and Yang simply stared. Nora shrugged "What?"

"Nicknames are my job Nora, mine." Yang deadpanned.

"I think it is still a little to soon." Jaune cautioned, while he secretly agreed with the new nickname.

"We should get up there." Ren interrupted. Jaune nodded. "Team JNPR, time to move out. "  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Blake swung gambol shroud, the blade arcing and cutting deep into the god's shoulder. Dressed in a lab suit the god screamed as she quickly slid the blade out and struck another.

She intentionally made sure none of the blows would be lethal. Crippling perhaps, but with no knowledge as to where Ruby and Yang were, whether they were here in Vytal or already on their way to another world, She didn't have the time to dawdle. With her intruder outfit Summer had also left a set of coordinates. She would land in a predetermined location.

Firing a shot at a nearby Dust canister she smirked as it exploded, knocking out a wall, and beginning a fire. It would attract more attention than she would like, but of worst came to worst it would take attention away from her, as well as the coordinates she was now putting in. She slammed the enter button, and started the sequence to open the portal. The steel outer ring started to glow, with the empty space inside crackling with distilled dust particles.

"Stop. That's an order Blake." A commanding voice said behind her. Blake smiled as she turned to look at her former commander, secretly happy that they hadn't left yet. Ruby was in full combat gear, her red cloak wrapped around her. She was holding crescent rose in her hand, her war axe still buckled in place. The look in Ruby's eyes was stern and cold. It was those of someone on a mission, but who had no emotional attachment to the outcome.

Blake shook her head. "What happened to you Ruby?" She asked, her voice tinged with sorrow.

Ruby did not respond, instead she prepared a battle stance "last chance Blake. I'd rather not use force."

"You won't face him. Fenrir is too dangerous. Regardless of what you think of me, I won't let my friends die."

Ruby hesitated, but only for a second. In a swirl of Roses she vanished, appearing above balke and striking down with her scythe. Blake leapt out of the way, allowing shadow to take her place. Blake fired two shots in quick succession, attempting to strike Ruby's legs. Ruby spun her scythe, the two rounds bouncing off the hardened steel.

Ruby twirled, rose floating round her. She spun towards Blake, her scything slicing through pillars with ease. Blake backstepped firing rounds while her eyes scanned potential escape routes. The bullets bounced away as the scythe drew near. Blake heard the whirr of the portal opening. It drew her eyes only for a moment.

"Blake!" A voice shouted, a bob of blonde hair appearing in the corner of her eye. Therew was Ynag. Her eyes wide and concerned. Blake felt a rush of joy before feeling the edge of a scythe strike her ribcage. She screamed as she hurtled across the room, striking the stone wall with an audible crack. Her visions swam she looked up to see Ruby approach her. Here eyes and voice were cold as she spoke something unintelligible. She raised her scythe. Blake wondered if Ruby was so far gone as deal a finishing blow.

Blake would never find out.

Ruby's scythe was held over her shoulder Ruby tensed herself, preparing to bring the scythe down on her former teammate. "I never wanted this." Ruby said quietly. She started to swing but felt an unknown force grip her scythe. She tugged at the scythe to no avail.

"Enough." Yang's voice said behind her. Ruby turned to look at her sister. Yang's eyes were a crimson red. Her aura glowing and crackling like fire. Her expression deadly serious. "I won't let you become a monster."

Ruby stared at her confusion mixing with shock. She heard the whooshing of air, a telltale sign of Blake activating her semblance. Ruby spun to look down, frowning at the ston statue she saw in blake's place.

"it's for the best." A voice said. Yang a ruby turned in time to see blake open fire on the control panel to the portal. The steel box burst. Blake looked at them for only a moment, her face expressing sorrow and remorse. She leapt through the portal without a word.

"We'll talk later." Ruby said quietly. She holstered crescent rose before vanishing, leaving a few rose petals behind her. She reappeared near the portal. "let's go! Before it collapses!" Ruby ordered. Yang nodded and followed her sister through the portal to Remnant.

JNPR was not far behind, rushing towards the top of Shade tower none of tehm spoke, arriving only in time for them to see Yang and Ruby run through the portal, presumably to Remnant.

"No time to lose! Through that portal!" Jaune exclaimed. The three wordless followed their leader towards the portal. However, they froze as the tower, old and dilapidated as it groaned. Pieces of stone and earth falling from the ceiling.

"Blake must've sabotaged the foundations!" Pyrrha shouted. A large rocking hurtled down on them. "out of the way!" Jaune shouted pushing his team out of the way. He caught the large rock, at least three times his size. Pyrrha, ren and Nora all froze, trying to decide between their leader and the Portal, Quickly they each took a step towards him.

'No! go!" Jaune ordered. Nora and Ren nodded each of their faces set with resolve. Both charged through the portal to Remnant.

Pyrrha remained.

"go Pyrrha! I'll be fine." Jaune said as he began to shift the weight of the rock, preparing to shrug it off to the side. Pyrrha glanced at the rock, at Jaune, then the portal. The portal was sputtering quickly losing its circular uniformity. Pyrrha looked at jaune for only a moment before she nodded, charging off toward sthe portal. Jaune threw the stone off and followed her, quickly catching up.

"Told you I'd be fine." He said jokingly as they ran towards the portal. Pyrrha leapt through first, followed quickly by Jaune.

Behind them Shade tower began to crumble. Ozpin and Sumemr both ran towards the tower, watching it collapse. Ozpin grimaced. "What the hell happened?" he demanded of one of the guards following him. 'Belladonna escaped!" the man gasped.

"What?" Ozpin snapped, fury taking over his face.

"Not surprising since Yang probably told her where they were going." Summer commented watching Shade tumble before them. While the loss of shade tower was unfortunate, there were other portals, but they would never be able to find out where in Remnant Blake was going. Summer inwardly smiled.

'So Fenrir can command possessed gods." Ozpin whispered his voice filled with horror.

"It seems so. Best quarantine the area, who knows if the infection has spread." Summer said. She turned to a guard and nodded her head. The guard saluted in return turned and ran towards the barracks to alert the others.

"We can only hope that RWBY and JNPR arrived in remnant safely." Ozpin said calmly.

"I am cutting off Remnant for the time being, the situation has too many unknowns."

"You should have sent me." Summer pointed out. Ozpin shook his head. "I need you here." He said but refused to elaborate further. Summer narrowed her eyes. It didn't make sense to hold back the best Vytal had to offer. Nor did it make sense not to send an army. While recon was a good idea, subtlety wasn't exactly the strong point of the gods, and Fenrir wouldn't be subtle at all.

Summer made a mental note to start to investigate this mess.  
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Please follow favorite and review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!


	8. Nora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, Life happened. I will be posting chapters over the next few days to catch up to where I have written.

"What do you do?"

"travel."

'Where?"

"Anywhere really."

"Have you seen any sloths?"

'Not recently."

'How about a sloth Grimm?"

"No, but I saw a pack of Beowolves fairly recently."

"Ohh! How did you get rid of them?"

'Well…"

Fenrir shifted uncomfortably. Here he was, in a diner, with two hunters.

Make no mistake, he was happy to be getting all you can eat pancakes and waffles with a free chocolate milkshake, but seriously, how many questions did this Nora girl have to ask? It really shouldn't have been that hard to get food then get out.

Then again, this girl seemed really cheerful; maybe she could be fun to hang around. Not necessarily a bad thing, it wasn't like he had any intention of destroying this place today.

Fenrir noticed that while Nora Valkyrie, the bright bubbly teenage huntress- in-training was bouncing on her seat, her friend Ren, had been quietly examining him. Fenrir figured he was unusual for a Faunus, supposedly people with animal traits, but he didn't think he was that unusual. Lie Ren begged to differ.

'It is rare to see a wolf Faunus this far from Menagerie. Are you traveling somewhere specific?" Ren asked politely.

Fenrir shook his head. "Nowhere in particular. Just wanted to see the world." He replied calmly. Ren nodded in understanding.

"Why here then? There are plenty of ways into Mistral by Vale, why go through one the most famously anti-Faunus towns? Ren asked. Nora turned to look at him. An ounce of concern on her face, before looking at Fenrir.

Fenrir scrambled for a believable answer. Any answer.

"I got… lost?" he said weakly, knowing it to be a poor excuse.

"That happens to me all the time too! I'm so glad I'm not alone in that feeling! It is so terrible when that happens! In fact! That happened to me today! I found a sloth, or at least I though it was a sloth but it wasn't and by the time I found that out, it was actually and ursa by the way, we were in this town! And then we ran into you!" Nora blurted out. Ren simply nodded.

"An ursa is one of the large bear shaped Grimm by the way." Ren added helpfully, likely noting the confused look on Fenrir's face.

"How does a sloth look like and ursa?" Fenrir asked.

'Your guess is as good as mine Fen!" Nora chirped cheerfully. Resulting in Ren shaking his head and mild disappointment.

'Your tea sir." A waiter said placing a steaming cup of green tea in front of Ren.

'About time! Fen's milkshake was about to melt!"

"Only because you insisted I wait for Ren." Fenrir argued. Nora looked at him with puppy eyes. "But it's not nice to start eating before your friends." She said, Ren nodding sagely.

'But Nora, A milkshake is a drink, not food." He said.

"But it has ice cream in it! Ice cream is a food!" She exclaimed, her hands raise din the air in frustration.

"We're friends?" Fenrir asked looking at the two hunters in training.

Ren and Nora stared at him. It made for a funny picture, Ren was sitting, back straight holding his steaming cup of tea, Nora however, Was sitting cross-legged facing Ren, her head and eyes twisting to get a good look at Fenrir.

Suddenly a big grin appeared on Nora's face. "Of course silly! Nobody who likes pancakes can be a bad person! So of course we're friends. Right Ren?"

Ren nodded gently, a hint of suspicion apparent in his eyes. "We just met this morning but you don't seem to have any negative intentions towards us, and whatever you are doing heading towards Mistral, I know one thing, Nora is a good judge of character." He said his voice barely rising at all.

Fenrir didn't know whether to smile or sob. What was this feeling, this almost warm blanket that felt like it surrounded him? He was Fenrir, the great wolf, and the destroyer of worlds. He would bring ruin to everything they were trying to protect, cause all their efforts to be for nothing.

At the same time, the idea of having friends, even if just for a short while, appealed to him. Fenrir debated the merits of immediate destruction of the planet with the long-term benefits of having friends. It didn't take long for him to decide.

"Well, not like I'm on a specific schedule for destroying this place or anything." He thought. He could always destroy remnant after they were dead, it would be, what, a hundred years if that? For him that was almost nothing.

He cheerfully picked up his Milkshake and held it out.

"To new friendships!" he said

'Yay! Friends!" Nora cheered. The three clinked their glasses (or in Ren's case, mug) together. Fenrir took big gulps.

"Gonna want to be careful there Fen!" Nora warned just a little to late. Fenrir felt the chill reach up his throat and spread towards his head. How did I forget about these! He wondered furiously as he clutched his head, desperate to ride out the freezing pain that made his skull feel like it was about to burst. He growled in frustration Fenrir, the Great Wolf, felled by a simple milkshake he thought ruefully. Slamming his head against the table with a clink. One day, one of these worlds would progress far enough to add something to ice cream to stop ice cream headaches. But it wouldn't be this world.

"Fen! I told you not to do that! You'll get a brain freeze!" Nora said tutting while shaking her head slowly.

"Tongue against the roof of your mouth, it eases the pain." Ren advised helpfully.

Ren got a pained moan in response.

Fenrir noted ruefully that he had forgotten how painful "Brain freezes" as Nora called them, were. He had also forgotten how they only lasted a few seconds. After half a minute, a mere thirty seconds, of moaning, he had recovered. That usually would have been the end of it, but Nora had taken photos.

So there they were, walking towards a tavern that would allow Faunus to stay in an actual bed, while Nora flipped through pictures.

"And this is when you moaned for the fourth time in five seconds!"

"Wouldn't that just be a really long moan?" Fenrir asked, exasperated at watching what was effectively, a play by play of his suffering.

"Nah!" Nora said in response. Not explaining he reasoning. She skipped ahead of the group, allowing Fenrir and Ren some time alone.

"She is a bundle of energy." Fenrir said pleasantly.

"I'd tell her to calm down, but I'd figure you would just rile her back up." Ren replied.

"I don't think I have ever met anyone that happy."

"You learn to cherish the happy moments." Ren said, a hint of bitterness entering his voice.

"Hurry up you two! The tavern is here!" Nora said from out of nowhere.

"Nora! Where are you?" Ren asked, scanning the street for evidence of Nora.

'Graw! Graw!" Nora responded, landing in front of the two of them silently. Fenrir raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Nora poked Ren "Boop." She said gently, causing Ren to smile.

"I still don't think that is what a sloth sounds like." He said.

"That was supposed to be a sloth?" Fenrir asked in wonderment.

Ruby had expected the trip through the portal to be a little unnerving, they always were. She still recalled her first time; she and Yang had still been in training. She had felt dizzy when they arrived on a desolate plain. It was Valhalla her mother had explained. Jaune had immediately earned the nickname "vomit boy" after he had subsequently vomited all over Summer Rose's cloak. But that wasn't exactly a surprise, he had never been a lucky child. A small smile slipped its way onto Ruby's lips without her knowledge. All that's changed. She thought, the smile on her face vanishing as quickly as it came.

Blake and Weiss were gone, Blake's mind perverted beyond recognition by a corruption she never deserved and Weiss, well Ruby didn't even try to hope anymore think of a way Weiss could have escaped that deathtrap. She sacrificed herself for the greater good. I can't let that sacrifice go to waste. Ruby told herself day after day. She wouldn't lose the last remains of her team, she wouldn't lose what was left of her family, never again would she feel the kind of pain that she felt at the loss of Weiss.

"Land ahoy!" Yang shouted, snapping Ruby from her thoughts. It took ruby only moments to gain a bearing on their situation and their surroundings. This was of course, in part because the portal had seemingly opened into thin air. Ruby saw the bright blue sky, sun shining in the distance. There was barely a cloud in the air allowing her to see miles of blue ocean. Noting no land, Ruby looked down At first she did not notice the small island as the air whipped in her face, but slowly, a pinprick of green grew into an apparent island.

"Let's land in an uninhabited area!" Ruby shouted over the buffeting wind. Yang nodded a massive grin on her face. She pulled out a pair of Aviator glasses and twisted her body to dive headfirst towards the ground. Ruby rolled her eyes before following.

For most of the people on patch, the day was rather calm. For Taiyang Xiao long, long time widower and father of two huntresses in training little had changed in the past months. Ruby had run off before the end of winter, sending him into a panic. He had called Qrow probably thirty times in the first hour after he found the note. The response he got while somewhat easing his panic, made him angrier than ever. Qrow knew where Ruby was, where she was heading and flatly refused to tell him! The nerve of that ass!

To make things worse, Yang was still moping in her room. She hadn't pulled herself together at all. Taiyang had tried everything he could he had gotten to the point of begging her just to eat. Sometimes she did, but she was wasting away all the same.

It was at this point when he heard a familiar voice which caused his heart to almost burst out of his chest.

"Incoming!" A cheerful voice shouted. Taiyang turned around to see two figures plunging towards the ground. He swore instinctively charging towards the two, paternal instinct taking over.

Yang didn't get much of a look at whom she was plunging towards; Ruby had been a complete bore during their short descent and Yang wasn't motivated to try to pull words out of her younger sister. The flash of blonde hair caught her attention quickly, and she noted that he was close to where they were about to land, he'd probably be caught in the shockwave.

Ruby glanced at her, clearly debating the risk to this helpless fool. The could go for a somewhat more stealthy approach, but Ruby knew by know that subtlety was not Yang's forte, that had been more of Blake's thing. Yang grinned and shouted a warning to the man.

"Incoming!" She shouted, immediately looking up at Ruby.

Ruby's face was sheet white. An expression somewhere between terror and joy played on her features. Her silver eyes were wide.

'Rubes what's going-" Yang began but was silenced by the feeling of her own knee slamming into her face. She hadn't even felt the contact with the ground! Yang spun backwards tumbling through a grassy plain. The sound of the ground cracking open signaled that ruby had made a more successful landing.

Yang stood dusting off her armor. It wasn't so fragile to break under some mild strain like striking the ground at terminal velocity but keeping it clean was a hassle. The golden scale mail clinked softly as she patted it, shaking excess dirt off the freshly cleaned armor.

'Rubes, what the hell did I-"

"Yang?" A voice whispered almost in shock. Yang would have recognized that voice anywhere. A voice she had wished to hear so many times before. The memories came flooding back. The weapons and armor buried, what little remained of the body cremated and placed in an urn, buried under a statue. Summer hadn't been there, she would found out days later.

Ruby sobbed, clutching Yang and later Weiss. Yang hadn't held back on the tears either, sobbing openly while making a speech about her father's courage and sacrifice. The words had been draining, the feelings remote, the world hadn't felt right. Sometimes yang wondered if that was the beginning of when Ruby changed. She would become a little colder, more distant, but also viciously protective. It also was when the close mother daughter relationship between Summer and Ruby started to strain.

Now in front of her, was the catalyst for so much change. His blonde hair wild, his form as muscular as ever and the concern on his face reminded her of exactly how her dad had acted to her antics. With complete and utter confusion.

"Well, this is a thing." Yang said, crossing her arms.

"You're supposed to be in bed! How did you get an arm? What the hell is going on?" Taiyang started to ask. Before he could continue Ruby struck him with a fierce roundhouse kick, intending to knock the poor man out.

Yang could only laugh as Taiyang turned around, rubbing the back of his head where the kick had landed.

"Ruby?" Taiyang asked in wonder, still trying to connect the powerful kick with his daughter.

'Damn, not enough force." Ruby muttered, lowering herself into a guarded stance.

"Don't think that'll be necessary Rubes." Yang said. Walking up beside this man who looked exactly like her father. "Ozpin's report said there'd be a ton of differences. It seems in this world, Dad survived."

'Survived what?" Taiyang asked turning to look at Yang.

"Just the biggest Grimm Invasion of Vytal ever." She said quietly, her expression darkening as the memories replayed themselves in her head.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, fury in her eyes.

"Don't be like that Rubes, We need all the help we can get!" Yang said smiling. In truth she wanted to hug the man tightly, pretend it was actually her father instead of another who looked and acted like him. She wanted to cry and sob, as years ago, Ruby would have. Maybe he'll be able to break Ruby's shell. Yang hoped.

Ruby relaxed slightly cold hard reason beating out her fear at revealing that gods had landed on this world.

"Can someone explain what is going on?" Taiyang asked desperately.

Yang shrugged "Sure, but can we get some grub first? I'm starving!"


	9. Taiyang

Taiyang Xiao Long had heard weird things throughout his life. He heard how Yang had wrecked an Ursa at the age of five with her _bare fists_. He heard a story of ruby buying cookies from twelve different bakeries in vale in less than five minutes (it made sense when he found out her semblance was speed). He had even heard how Raven Branwen was interested in him.

He had laughed that one off for awhile.

As he reflected on the absolutely insane story that these two supposed gods who looked _exactly_ like Ruby and Yang were telling him he wondered if he was of sound mind. Partially because he believed it and partially because he had no better explanation, Orkams razor told him the simplest explanation was the best, or was it oakams? Well whatever, he didn't have a better or more reasonable explanation for two girls to fall from the sky at terminal velocity and still be alive.

"So, that's when Blake went through and we followed. Which is how we ended up here." Yang finished reclining back into the stuffed leather chair.

The three were in Taiyang's living room. A brightly lit room with large windows. A lightly varnished coffee table was set between them, with three cups of coffee steaming on small coasters. Yang and Ruby both sat on the two leather chairs across from the linen covered couch Taiyang sat on. It was an alien feeling for Taiyang, who was used to seeing the two sisters snuggle on the couch with ruby sometimes falling asleep against yang during a romance movie. The memories brought a smile to his lips.

"What's so amusing?" Ruby asked stoically. Taiyang frowned. This ruby, whatever had happened to her, she wasn't the bright happy girl who had so recently left for Mistral. This girl was quiet, distant and lacked the vibrancy of his daughter, the passion for life and adventure.

It broke Taiyang's heart.

"I'm just processing this. It isn't what I expected."

"What did you expect? Your daughters to show up out of nowhere and claiming to be Grimm?" Yang snarked, a playful smile on her face.

Taiyang shook his head. "I'm not sure. I certainly wasn't expecting this."

"We weren't either. To be fair not everything is the same here. Supposedly Summer is dead in this-" Yang stopped as she saw Taiyang's face become pale. "is something wrong?" She asked dumbly, knowing full well that something as indeed wrong.

"Summer's alive?" Taiyang asked.

"Not the Summer from this world. But yes, my mother Head Commander Summer Rose is alive." Ruby responded. Yang winced at the cold and callous explanation.

"That's… not all." Yang added, deciding it better to explain everything now rather than later.

'What happened? What are you talking about?" Taiyang asked, still reeling from the surprise that Summer, well not _his_ Summer was alive.

"You died several hundred years ago during a Grimm invasion of Vytal." Yang explained quickly.

"What?" Taiyang responded as he slumped back in the couch. He supposed it would make sense, If Summer was alive, he would likely be dead, cosmic balancing and all, but it sucked to hear nonetheless.

"You saved lives, like heroes should. You were buried with full honors." Ruby explained. Taiyang turned to her shocked that someone who resembled her little rose could be so…

Different?

Cold?

Stoic?

Taiyang couldn't place it, but something was very clearly wrong. He didn't know what, but there was something that was not right with her. She was clearly broken.

Ruby stood, "I will scout the perimeter. Yang stay here." She ordered before quickly walking off. Taiyang went to stop her only to have Yang raise her hand.

"I think it's just an excuse to be on her own." She said. Taiyang looked at her.

"What happened?" He asked simply. Yang's expression changed, her eyes were downcast as she looked away wistfully.

"After you, well died. A lot of stuff happened. Summer didn't show up at the funeral, she had stuff to do, eliminate the remaining Grimm and stuff. Things improved a bit, Weiss and Ruby got really close and then a long time later Weiss went MIA." Tears welled in Yang's eyes. Taiyang sat in Ruby's chair and listened silently.

"It was bad, Ruby basically lost all confidence in herself as a leader. She searched the area for weeks. There was no sign of Weiss. Blake and I kind of accepted that she was probably dead, killed by Grimm, but Ruby, I don't think she's really ever accepted it you know? She can't give up and her failure haunts her. She started to improve, Blake helped a lot." She said calmly. Before a thought crossed her mind "You know who Weiss and Blake are right?" She asked cautiously, comforted by his almost immediate nod.

"Well, things got a little better, she was laughing again. And then Blake…" Her voice hitched as she mentioned it "Blake was possessed or something. It was kind of like a Grimm fused with her. We call it corruption. Usually its causes the one possessed to become pretty much crazy. But for Blake… nobody knows why but it didn't happen like that. We ended up locking her up in a cell." Yang shuddered at the thought. Taiyang could see her discomfort, but also her desire to explain everything.

"Ruby blamed herself again. It was really bad. She demanded to go out on missions alone, so that nobody else she cared about would get hurt. Summer said no. Ruby said she'd go to Ozpin about it. Summer pulled rank. If anything that was kind of the final straw. She changed a lot after that. She's sometimes considered the gold-standard for what a guardian should be…" Yang paused, exhaling. "But she isn't the person she ever wanted to be. In fact I think she's the complete opposite." By this point tears were dripping form yang's eyes. Taiyang wanted to wrap her in a hug.

"Are she and Summer, are they talking?" Taiyang asked. Yang shook her head. "Nothing outside of basic orders. Ruby hasn't celebrated a birthday in years, sometimes summer asks her out for dinner, kind of a peace offering I think, like what raven does with me. But, Ruby always says she's busy, summer doesn't push."

Taiyang noted Yang's mention of Raven, but decided that it needed to eb dealt with another day. "That's just… wrong." He said gently. Yang nodded in agreement.

"Ruby's still hurting and I don't think she'll ever really forgive herself. She wanted to be a hero and she thinks she's failed miserably."

Taiyang was reminded of his daughter with only one arm, still sitting in her room upstairs. He knew it was selfish but he decided to ask anyway. "Yang, would you do me a favor?"

'Sure what?"

'I'll talk to Ruby, but in return would you talk to yourself?" yang looked at him strangely. 'I mean my daughter. She's not in a great place right now and maybe you could help."

Yang smiled, her eyes were red, but she clearly was happy to help. 'Sure, Where is this little blonde bombshell?"

Ruby walked along the beach of patch, ignoring the strange stares. It seemed that most of the people on the island were called Hunters, they had a similar job to the Guardians, killing Grimm. She saw a family, a father a mother and a young child. She stopped and stared. The child was smiling with a grin larger than any she had ever seen. The two parents were smiling as well, clearly enjoying the time with their child.

She didn't notice she was crying until a tear dripped down her face. She rubbed her eyes. Why was she crying? She had no reason to. She hadn't lost a friend today, or a battle. She hadn't made a mistake that got people killed. She heard footsteps behind her. She turned her attention towards the approaching figure.

"Mr. Xiao Long." Ruby said politely. Taiyang had his hands in his pockets and was slowly walking towards her. His face was passive, except for a mild grin. "Somebody isn't the Ice queen they act like." He said, deciding to solve the problem with a verbal equivalent of brute force. Hey, it worked in fights and it worked with summer (he used to have bruises to prove it), why not Ruby?

"A leader must be dispassionate at all times. That way they can make objective decisions leading to better outcomes and the achievement of objectives."

"If that's your excuse, my daughter is a thousand times the leader you are."

"And so?" Ruby asked a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"What did you do when Weiss vanished?" Taiyang asked bringing out the big guns. "Did you look for her because she was your subordinate?"

"Weiss was my friend, my failings as a leader let her down."

"Bullshit. I herd the summary from Yang." Tai retorted. It felt strange calling these two by his daughters' names. They looked exactly like them, but experience and maturity wise, they were miles apart.

"I let her head off alone. I waited rather than acted when she didn't respond to the first call. Fifteen minutes I waited. One minute makes the difference between life and death. It was a foolish mistake."

"Did you know exactly where she was? What if she was already dead? There was nothing you could have done."

"That's not a excuse. I should have acted."

"And then Blake got infected or something, that your fault too?"

"I didn't take adequate precautions."

"No wonder you're so dispassionate. If you let yourself feel anything you'd break." Taiyang said with a hint of disgust.

"Huh?"

"You're weak. You shut yourself off to so you wouldn't have to deal with the pain. Let me tell you, You're doing it wrong. All you're doing is hurting the people around you."

'I'm protecting them."

'From who?" Taiyang asked a deep rage boiling inside him.

"Those who would hurt them."

"And what does Summer think about that?"

"What the head commander thinks is none of my concern."

At that Taiyang's will to not beat the crap out of her broke, He launched himself at Ruby, who nimbly sidestepped the attack. She drew her weapon. Looks like he would actually use Brute force. Well he was sort of trying to make a little girl cry, not exactly the most heroic thing but hey, whatever works.

"What Summer thinks is none of your concern? Damn how deep did you bury Ruby inside your delusion? You aren't a leader; you aren't saving anyone. If anything, You are causing your sister more pain. Weiss would roll over in her grave id she saw you now. She'd be disgusted with you!" Taiyang shouted. Ruby swung her scythe the blade arcing down on Taiyang's neck. He barely dodged.

"Damn! Your fast." He said prepping himself for a nasty fight. Ruby stood there unguarded, unbridled hatred in her eyes.

'Take it back and I might let you live." She threatened.

"Sorry, no can do. I'm not a liar." Taiyang said with a smirk, praying he knew what he was getting into. _Yang, or er god Yang Divine Yang I'll come up with something later. Anyway, I hope you know what your doing, because I sure as hell don't._


	10. Jaune

Jaune Arc, Knight-commander of Team JNPR, did not expect to be plummeting from the sky. He would never tell anyone this, except maybe Pyrrha, but he _hated_ heights. In fact, he loathed them. The reason he could never handle Air transport, why he insisted on ground transport, or better yet walking was that fearless Jaune Arc, slayer of thousands of Grimm, would always vomit when he saw how high up he was.

So, it should come as no surprise, that after he leapt through the portal and was transported to the sky, high above Remnant the first thing he did was scream. As he plummeted towards the earth, he continued to scream.

It took what seemed like hours to reach the ground. His aura bursting to life as he slammed, face-first into the solid concrete below him. The shockwave from the impact caused several nearby buildings to collapse.

Jaune groaned. He rolled over and pushed himself up. His aura had reduced the severity of the impact, something resembling negligible, but that didn't mean it did not hurt at all. Pushing himself up he took note of where he was. H enoted several severe cracks in his armor, he would have to get it repaired once he found his team.

The sky was dark, he appeared to be in a ruined city, the shops looked ransacked, buildings were crumbling. Jaune wondered if he was in the middle of a warzone. The damage was to recent for the city to have been abandoned for long, a few months to a year at the most.

A snarl snapped Jaune out of his thoughts. He looked to see a black bear-like beast lumber towards him. The spikes on its back, in addition to the red eyes, told him that this beast was likely a Grimm. It hurtled towards Jaune snarling as it went. Jaune let out a slight sigh. He turned to face the beast, striking it with on forceful blow. The bear-grimm crumpled to the ground and slowly started to disintegrate.

Jaune looked at it in distaste.

'How weak." He muttered before looking around again. His eyes widened as he saw a building start to reassemble itself.

'What?" he asked. Wonder in his voice as he slowly marched toward the building.

He paused as he saw a woman with a riding crop. She had blonde hair tied in a bun. He skirt was torn, as was the blouse and cape she wore.

'I swore I just repaired this part of vale." The woman said, exasperated and more than a little tired. She turned, Jaune slowly slipped behind a corner hoping to hide himself from view. He still did not know whether this woman was a friend or foe, or even worse, completely insane. Who repairs buildings in an abandoned city?

"You around the corner. Come out." the woman ordered. Jaune nearly swore, but instead remained silent, readying himself to strike.

"Come out now, or I won't be responsible for what happens." She warned.

Jaune drew crocea mors the longsword glowing with energy as he pulle dit from it's scabbard. He flung himself forward, striking at the woman. A look of surprise came over her she instinctively leapt backwards, casting glyph. Jaune, instead of landing soundly as gravity should have intended, was lifted into the sky, cursing as he went.

'I don't know who you are or where you- Mr. Arc?" the woman asked.

"How do you know my name vile witch? Let me down!" Jaune demanded as he slowly floated higher into the sky. He dropped with a hard thump, he felt his breastplate buckle and crack, it would need to be replaced.

'Quite the commentary Mr. Arc. But not how you should talk to your professors." She commented.

'Who are you?" Jaune asked as he tried to stand, a glyph slammed him back into the ground.

'I get answers first." She demanded pointing her riding crop at him. 'Firstly, how did you get in here?" Jaune rolled his eyes. This was getting dull, and he wanted answers, not a game of guess who.

He gathered what was left of his aura and pushed himself off the ground. The glyph cracked and eventually shattered under the pressure. He stood and stared at this woman. Who was even now, looking more perplexed than surprised.

'I am Knight Commander Jaune Arc. Now tell me who you are before I lsoe my patience."

The woman cocked a blonde eyebrow. "Mr. Arc? Did you hit your head, are you quite sure you are alright?"

Jaune let out an exasperated groan. "How do you know me?" he demanded pointing his long sword at the woman.

'Other than the fact that I am your combat instructor at Beacon you mean?"

"Beacon? What is that?"

"Clearly you have had a very severe fall, you didn't perchance cause that crater behind you?"

Jaune glanced backwards on instinct. He cursed himself as he realized what his body was doing. A shout from the woman was all he heard before a massive boulder struck him in the head. The world turned to black.

Jaune awoke to see a campfire flickering in front of him. The area was too dark for him to tell where he was, but the floor was uneven stone. _A cave perhaps?_ E thought. His inspection was interrupted when the woman from before approached.

'Finally up?" She asked, crossing her arms, riding crop in hand.

Jaune grunted and pushed himself into a sitting position. His arms and legs were bound by rope. Jaune tried to pull his arms apart, his strength however was not enough to break his bonds.

"Aura and dust infused rope, plus a few glyphs. You won't get out of those so easily." She said, grinning slightly at his squirming. "now who are you? You clearly are not Jaune Arc."

'I am." Jaune stated, "Just not Jaune Arc of Remnant."

"Explain." She ordered.

'I am Knight-commander Jaune Arc, commander of Team JNPR. I am a god hunting a Grimm called Fenrir."

Glynda cocked an eyebrow. "Who is Fenrir?"

'A being which is a Grimm but not a Grimm. Fenrir appears when the number of Grimm reach a critical mass, Fenrir then destroys all life and turns the world to ash, before repeating the process."

"And how do you know this?"

"He invaded Valhalla long before I was born, the gods were forced to flee. Valhalla is in ruins."

"Pity." The woman muttered.

"I've answered your questions, now answer mine." Jaune demanded. A wave of the woman's crop threw him into a nearby wall. Jaune grunted in pain.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch, deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy. " Glynda said matter of factly, walking up to Jaune. "Now, I don't know how you broke through three separate Truth Glyphs, or the variety of truth serums I injected you with. But I will ask only once, and unless I completely believe what you say, I will make assumptions." Jaune struck the ceiling of what apparently was a cavern.

"You will not like the consequences of said assumptions. Not. One. Bit. Have I made myself clear?"

Jaune nodded weakly.

"What did you do with Jaune Arc?" Glynda asked. Her eyes giving Jaune an icy glare.

'I don't know." Jaune responded. He was flung across the room smashing into a nearby wall. Fiery pain surged through his back as bits of metal armor fragmented and stuck themselves in his backside.

"You will tell me, but let's go with an easier question. Where is Salem?"

Jaune's mind was reeling, "I don't know any Sa-" Jaune paled as he recalled something from the deepest crevices of his mind. A story from a friend, a story of a princess who turned to dark magic. Could Remnant be the place where that story happened?

"Answer me." Glynda said, placing a heel on Jaune's throat. "I generally would not contemplate cold blooded murder, but you are claiming to be a student of mine and that." She drove her heal into Jaune's throat ever so slightly "Bode well." A little deeper, Jaune couldn't breathe. "Well for you." She finished releasing the pressure on his throat a minute after finishing. Jaune gasped for air.

"Now, you could break through high-level gravity glyphs, you must be in Salem's inner circle if you are that powerful. You also look exactly like Jaune Arc, but clearly are not him; you have the wrong equipment and fighting style. So where is Salem? What is she planning? And most importantly, Where is my student?"

"I don't know!" Jaune shouted. "I'm here to hunt Fenrir with my teammates. And knight Commander Ruby Rose."

"Let me guess Knight commander Blake Belladonna is about to burst in and save you?" Glynda asked sarcastically.

"Pretty close." Someone whispered a small katana placing itself across Glynda's neck.

Jaune looked closely, he recognized the blade, few would dare to wield gambol shroud, and none could do so quite as quietly or effectively as Blake Belladonna.

Glynda dropped her Riding crop, rolling her eyes in frustration.

'Raven, Qrow come on out."

"Bout time." Qrow said. Glynda turned her head, eyes wide in shock.

"Qrow! A little help!" She exclaimed.

'not your Qrow." Ravens aid, walking up next to her brother. She walked up to Glynda while Qrow moved to Jaune, undoing his bonds quickly.

"Mrs. Goodwitch, we have much to discuss." Raven said, waving for Blake to lower her weapon.

Glynda rubbed her neck. "Miss actually."

"Well, well, well…" Qrow said grinning. Raven gave him a stare that made Jaune shiver. "Jeez sis, it's not like last time, I promise!"

'You give up one addiction, and then get another." Raven growled.

'Well at least this one isn't getting anyone killed!" Qrow retorted angrily. Raven's face softened. She should blame him; she should have cursed him for not being there, instead moaning in a hospital bed. But, throughout everything, how could she? Qrow had always been there for her and for Yang. She knew no one more loyal.

And she hadn't been there either. Who knows, what if she had lost both of them?

Raven turned back to Glynda. "Sit down, I will explain this all." Glynda sat, her guard clearly still up.

"It seems we have much to discuss." Glynda responded. Raven nodded sitting down. "What has Arc told you so far?"

"Clearly not enough." Glynda replied. Jaune snorted before turning to stare at Blake.

"How did you get out?" He asked, buying time to reach for his weapon. Blake sat down next to him. "Summer Rose freed me." She responded. Jaune paused, trying to process that.

"Are you serious?" he asked dumbfounded that the Head commander would commit what was effectively, treason.

"yes. She freed me, gave me gambol shroud, and told me to meet up with Raven and Qrow." She pulled out a piece of paper "She also gave me this." She handed him the sheet of paper, torn and crinkled form the rigors of the past day.

Jaune ignore the coordinates at the top, they were clearly for Blake to use as a rendezvous point with Qrow and Raven. Instead he looked down at the scrawled handwriting near the bottom edge. His eyes widened as he read the brief message. He looked at Blake.

"Is this confirmed?"

Blake shrugged.

'Why would she be here? Why not return to Vytal?"

Another shrug.

"Odin damn it. If this is accurate we need to do something."

'So you still have a heart in there." Blake responded.

Jaune scowled. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

'you aren't exactly the cheerful rookie trainee."

"you aren't exactly the sullen, quiet erotica reader you were either."

'It's art." Blake said with a slight smile.

Jaune chuckled, getting back into rhythm of the old verbal spars between teams.

"At least Yang isn't here with those horrible puns, though."

"they were nice sometimes." Blake said quietly.

'I will argue that point until ragnarok." He said, the laughter caught in his throat.

"Doesn't seem real does it?" Blake asked.

"No. I wish I knew where Pyrrha was."

"She'll be fine." Balke said placing a comforting hand on Jaune's shoulder. She quickly removed it when Jaune tensed.

"Sorry Blake, it takes some getting used to."

"I may be corrupted but-"

"I get it Blake, you are still you. I could tell when you didn't kill anyone, but that doesn't mean…" Jaune fell silent, not knowing exactly how to explain his fears.

Blake was silent, knowing exactly what he feared.

"When Fenrir dies, supposedly the corruption will vanish."

Jaune smiled, his smile turned into a massive grin "Yang will be pleased to hear that." A waggle of his eyebrows caused Blake to turn bright red.

"You have spent too much time around Yang."

"no, Nora has spent too much time around Yang." Jaune said, laughing slightly.

An uneasy silence fell between them as they quietly listened to Raven's explanation. There were many things left unsaid, but there would be time afterwards after this mess was concluded, after Fenrir was dead to discuss them.


	11. Pyrrha

Pyrrha Nikos, the Fall maiden of Vytal, was used to things being unexpected. She lived with Nora Valkyrie after all. Her partner was originally the least experienced on their team, and he had grown immensely. Theirs was a boy meets girl, or rather a girl meets boy story. It only took them much longer than the standard movie to actually say something about it.

Now she was plummeting into a snowy, heavily forested area at potential crater-creating velocity. Thank goodness for landing strategies. Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, concentrating on what was apparently a small tree. She would use that as a landing target.

She drew her shield, smiling slightly at the familiar weight. It had been a long time since she had used it in combat, the problem with being the Fall Maiden, you're powers made fighting for too easy. No opponent could match you.

At least Jaune was a relatively good sparring partner.

The tree seemed to grow quickly; she angled her shield downwards and felt it hit wood with a satisfying crunch. She barreled through the tree and struck the ground below, a small crater forming as she landed. Dirt and wood splinters flew through the air. Pyrrha exhaled and stood, slinging her shield over her back. She stretched slightly, rotating her arm to release any leftover tension form her landing.

Taking stock of her location she tried to see if there were any signs of civilization. It was a snowy, wooded forest, quiet to the point where she wondered if any sound even existed. Snow covered the ground, and as she stepped she heard the crunch of snow beneath her boots. She shivered slightly, remembering her armor was not ideal for colder climates. She flared her aura, using her powers to warm herself.

She walked straight ahead examining the peaceful forest around her, there were no animals in sight and she did not hear the chirping of birds. _How strange_ she thought. She tensed slightly; knowing that such a situation likely meant that the Grimm had killed all of the forest's animals.

'Jaune?" She called; deciding finding her partner was of more importance than the threat of the Grimm. She heard a growl in response.

She groaned internally before turning around. She saw several strange,

wolf-like creatures, clearly they were Grimm. They'd have to be killed.

As the wolf Grimm charged, Pyrrha shook her head. These dumb brutes were no threat to her. Most Grimm had some level of intelligence, some sort of pack-hunting mentality. These things just charged, it was like they had a berserker mentality. She swiftly sidestepped one attack, slamming the back of a now flaming fist into the beasts neck, The beast's fur ignited, a high pitched howl of pain escaping before the thing was engulfed hurtling towards the woods. Pyrrha drew her blade and smile das the others approached, this would be a simple workout, not even much of a warm-up really.

Pyrrha was disappointed. Well perhaps disappointed would not be the right word, she hadn't expected much of a fight; she regularly took on corrupted gods and hundred of Grimm at a time. A few dozen weren't much of a problem. She hadn't even needed to use her maiden powers after the first one. The rest had fallen to her sword, it was like cutting a hot knife through butter. She hadn't even broken a sweat.

But that just made her all the more nervous, what of Fenrir was gathering the strongest Grimm? Perhaps that is why she had faced so many weak ones? Even weak Grimm on other worlds were stronger than that. Jaune had said that the Grimm of remnant were supposed to be _stronger_ than other Grimm, not weaker.

The sound of spoken words snapped her from her thoughts. She looked up and noted rising smoke. _Perhaps a nearby fire?_ She thought. She leapt to the top of a tree, flawlessly balancing on the very tip. She smiled as it brought a memory of an old balancing exercise she had done with Jaune, He never was able to balance, and he always lost is mind when he wasn't solidly on the ground. She frowned as she wondered if he was okay.

But she saw smoke rising form the woods. Rushing towards it, skipping from tree to tree, she stumbled across a small town. A palisade wall surrounded it. The town was sprawling, and from what she could see, was growing larger still, a mixture of stone, brick and wooden buildings were built next to each other, what it lacked in the conformity of Vytal, it made up for in the undisciplined hustle and bustle, it was something she missed form her own sleepy area of Vytal, before everything else had happened.

She hopped down and approached to nearby figures. A boy and a girl. The girl had dark brown hair, almost black, with a hint of crimson. She wore boots and a red cloak. Pyrrha smiled as she thought of Ruby, the similarities were surprising. The boy next to her, presumably her boyfriend, was tall and blonde. He had a mix of armor and a small sword strapped to his side.

Pyrrha strode up confidently; the two of them were debating something over a map.

"How could we have gotten lost? I swear this is the right place."

"Look, I know we took a wrong turn at the river. I think we're over here."

"Only one way to find out."

"How about a bet? If you are right I'll buy you a cookie."

"You're on!" the girl excitedly replied.

"Excuse me." Pyrrha said gently before the two could race off. Faster than Pyrrha could have expected, the two spun around to stare at her.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she recognized the two faces. They were slightly younger than Ruby and Jaune from her world, but certainly the two of knight-commanders.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune whispered, reaching out hesitantly, as if not believing she was real.

"Yes?" Pyrrha asked dumbly.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby exclaimed, crashing into Pyrrha and giving her a bear hug. Pyrrha could feel tears dripping from the girl's eyes.

"You're alive! I thought you died on the tower, you fought Cinder and she shot you and- I'm so glad you're okay!" the small girl bawled. Pyrrha felt her heart sink, she wanted to play along, give these… children, a few more moments of happiness, of joy; but she couldn't stop what came out of her mouth next.

"Pyrrha is dead in this world?" She asked.

Jaune, still in shock, looked at her. "What… do you mean?" he asked weakly, confused and frightened at the same time. Pyrrha felt Ruby's grip on her loosen, Ruby stared into her eyes, silver meeting green. Ruby was searching for something, but for what, Pyrrha did not know.

"This isn't the best place for this conversation, Perhaps we could talk somewhere more comfortable?" She asked. Jaune slowly nodded.

"Let's go into town, then we can talk about… stuff… I guess." He said as he turned and walked into town. Ruby released Pyrrha from the hug, but kept close, keeping pace with the taller Spartan. They approached an nearby restaurant.

"Will this work?" Jaune asked stoically. Pyrrha nodded uncomfortably as they entered. The restaurant was a small diner. Many Wooden benches and small tables were crammed into the small building. Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably, there were minimal defenses against and attack, it just seemed wrong. In Vytal, they were always on edge, Grimm attacks were unlikely, but the last invasion had made it clear that they were still a threat even in Vytal. Buildings were designed to be fortifiable at a moment's notice and as such, virtually everything was made from metal, rather than wood, the few creature comforts left were slowly fading, as regulations were more strictly enforced.

It was a nice change of pace.

Pyrrha sat down and paused as a waiter handed her a menu.

"Don't worry about it! We got you covered." Ruby said cheerfully as she elbowed Jaune. "Chin up vomit boy. Turn that frown upside down." Jaune nodded solemnly and put on a forced smile, making Pyrrha even more uncomfortable than she already was.

"How to begin…" She started with a sigh. "I am form a place called Vytal, it was where we went after Valhalla fell to a Grimm invasion led By Fenrir."

"the small Island of Vytal?" Ruby asked.

"No. it was what we named our world." Pyrrha explained.

'Sooo, you aren't related to our Pyrrha, not a cousin or something?"

"No." Pyrrha replied shaking her head.

"So other worlds exist?"

"Yes, Yggdrasil, the world tree, created several worlds, there may be more out there, unconnected to the world tree, but they would likely be barren and lifeless, nothing more than a remnant of what they would be if connected to the world tree."

"So you got here through the world tree thing Yagger-something?"

'In a manner of speaking yes, but I don't know the specifics, that would have been Weiss's forte."

"So Weiss exists in your world too?" Ruby asked. Her eyes wide and expressive.

Pyrrha nodded a smile coming to her lips, Ruby reminding her of what Her Vytal self had once been. "All of Team JNPR and Team RWBY do. Although…"

"What?" Ruby asked, a look of concern playing across her face.

"it's nothing ruby." Pyrrha began trying to wave off the question.

'tell us." Jaune demanded, glaring at her.

"It's just that, team RWBY isn't doing so well. Weiss is missing and Blake… well she's sick in a manner of speaking."

Ruby's face immediately expressed concern. "Will they be okay? Have you had any leads on Weiss?"

Pyrrha shook her head. 'Blake is doing better than most, but Weiss has been missing for a long time."

"I wonder how the other me is taking it." Ruby wondered, her eyes downcast.

Pyrrha didn't reply, she didn't want to lie, but didn't have the heart to tell this bright, optimistic Ruby the truth. How her other self had basically crumbled, retreated into her shell and had more or less had become as cold as Jaune was being now.

The waiter returned, leaving quickly after they ordered, and returned almost as quickly with their food. Ruby continued to ask questions about Vytal, expressing surprise at many things. Pyrrha in turn asked about Remnant. Jaune remained silent throughout the conversation, only opening his mouth when Pyrrha finally said she had become the Fall Maiden.

"That's how Pyrrha died; the real Pyrrha, _our_ Pyrrha. Cinder murdered the previous Maiden, killed Ozpin and then when Pyrrha tried to stop her, Cinder killed her too."

There was an audible silence as Pyrrha absorbed this information. Cinder Fall, a mysterious figure in Vytal, had murdered her in Remnant? That was somewhat surprising. But Pyrrha had always imagined that even her she had been the fall maiden, not being that was like lacking a part of herself.

"Jaune, This Pyrrha might not be ours but-" Ruby began, only to be stopped by Pyrrha raising her hand.

"Jaune is right. I am not the Pyrrha of this world, nor am I here to replace her. I am hunting Fenrir, and then I will go."

"In your world what happened to me?" Jaune asked.

"We're dating." Pyrrha said simply. Grinning slightly at Ruby's excited gasp.

"Oh." Was all Jaune said, returning to his now-cold food.

Ruby continued to talk, mentioning her father back on patch, Pyrrha did not mention Vytal's Summer Rose, or Taiyang Xiao Long. She glanced at Jaune several times, only to be ignored by him. She shook her head, and wondered how two men who looked so similar could be so different.

* * *

"Ren." A voice called. Lie Ren moaned softly. He didn't want to get up, it was still dark out. He wanted to sleep. Sleep, that precious thing he never got enough of.

"Ren." The voice called again. _High pitched, oh no, Odin save me, I know that voice!_

"Ren!" Nora shouted at the to of her lungs. Like a flailing beast Ren was bolted from sleep to full awareness, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"What's wrong Nora? Did you not get enough pancakes?" He asked worriedly.

Nora laughed.

"Sorry Ren, No pancakes today. But if you could make some in this dank cell tat would be nice. Oh! Maybe we could use these shackles as sort of frying pans! We could bend them into the right shape! But how are we going to get flour?"

Ren blotted out the rest of Nora's musing as he took stock of his surroundings. He and Nora were trapped in a jail cell. They were shackled to the wall, he experimentally tugged at his bonds, but found that they were stronger than he realized, no wonder Nora wasn't trying to currently bend the bars to their cell into strange shapes.

The sound of heels on stone echoed down from the hallway outside their cell. Nora fell quiet and watched, a look of fear and apprehension on her face. Ren waited apprehensively, he could feel someone's presence and it terrified him. It felt like he was being choked by his own aura. He ocudl only imagine what kind of person could elicit such a reaction from a god. Perhaps Fenrir? But he would have killed them, wouldn't he?

Unless he intended to do whatever had happened to Blake to them, turn them into his unwitting servants. The thought terrified him. He glanced at Nora, trying to decide on what exactly to say.

The decision was taken from him as a woman appeared.

"Nora, Ren, It's been awhile." She said. Nora gasped. Ren looked at the woman, not comprehending what he was seeing. Who was this woman? He had never seen her before. She was tall, but ghostly white. She wore a black dress, markings like veins spread from her red eyes, the sclera black instead of white.

The woman cocked her head. "It seems Nora has some suspicions as to who I am, but you Ren, don't seem to have a clue." He look was terrifying, it looked almost contemptuous, as if he was a small bug and she were an elephant, she barely noticed his presence, as if she was looking through him.

'How's Ruby?" She asked.

Then everything clicked.


	12. Summer

"Head Commander Summer Rose!" The guard captain saluted. Summer was in the barracks, examining the new layout as well as visiting injured guards from the Shade tower incident.

"At ease. How are the injured?" She asked calmly.

"Two deaths and sixty injured. Interestingly enough the cat didn't deal either of the fatal wounds. We got lucky with that beast." The guard captain said, a hint of loathing in his voice. Summer felt her stomach twist.

Those corrupted by the Darkness were generally vicious berserkers, regardless of how powerful they were. They became monstrosities, Blake had been different and none had been able to explain why. Instead of killing her, they had locked her in a cage trying to see when they corruption would dominate her mind turn her into just another beast. She never had.

Now they seemed to think Blake had far more nefarious goals and due to her personal intelligence and apparent restraint, even more dangerous than the beasts. To most of the guardians, Blake had died upon possession, and the Grimm that had possessed her was far more intelligent than the others. They had dubbed it The Cat Summer wasn't sure why, but the name annoyed her.

"How are those still in quarantine?"

"None seemed to have been possessed ma'am. However, Director Schnee wants to talk with you."

"Very well, I'll talk to her later. Let's make sure this situation doesn't become even worse"

"Oh I doubt that very much." A voice behind Summer said calmly. Summer slowly turned, commanding her body not to lash out at the owner of that voice.

"Zeus." Summer said in a near-snarl "What brings you out here?" She asked. Zeus approached her. He towered over the diminutive Summer Rose. He neared seven feet and wore a bronze colored cuirass and greaves. A giant round shield was slung over his shoulder while a sword with an appearance similar to a spatha hung from his belt's sword loop. He never sheathed his sword letting it hang like the dangerous naked blade it was, and he kept it in intentionally poor condition, rusted with blood and chipped.

"Summer, there is no need for such… informality." Zeus said calmly. "You are talking to the father of the Fall Maiden."

"Zeus, there is no need for such… disrespect. You are talking to the Head commander of the Guardians." Summer Rose responded a slight smile on her lips. Zeus frowned clearly surprised by the disrespect. He slowly shook his head before relaxing again. A faint smile on his lips made Summer feel uncomfortable.

"Lord-general Ozpin has tasked me with catching the Traitor Blake Belladonna, as she is clearly possessed, I have permission to kill on sight."

A shiver ran down Summer's spine, but she maintained her composure. "An interesting choice, I would have imagined he would have chosen a warrior more experienced in fighting agile opponents."

Zeus shrugged "All one needs is to overwhelm their opponent with strength. It is astounding that you made it this far without knowing that."

Summer paused, deciding carefully on how to respond. A pregnant silence hung in the air; all the surrounding guardians watched the pair, fearing what was to happen.

"Zeus, are you perhaps, saying I am not fit for my position." Summer inquired, daring him to respond. Such an insult could not be tolerated, especially not if she wanted to be respected by her subordinates.

"That is exactly what I am saying." Zeus said. Several audible gasps followed the declaration. Summer herself was taken aback at how brazen Zeus was being.

"Perhaps we should test that belief." Summer proposed, long ago she had offered to castrate this bastard; she intended to do it today. She grinned slightly, amused as several emotions played across Zeus's face. He opened his mouth.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice asked Summer glanced over at the new visitor.

"Director Schnee, I did not expect to see you here." Zeus said quickly. "I was just exploring the crime scene before pursuing the traitor."

Winter Schnee approached the both of them, her hair tied in a bun. She wore a simple white combat uniform, a pale blue jacket resting from her shoulders. A cavalry saber was held in her left hand.

She turned to look at Zeus. "I assume you are finished with your investigation?" She asked curtly, a look of disinterest on her face.

Zeus did not respond, instead glaring at Winter with a look of annoyance. His frowned deepened as a small smirk appeared of Winter's face.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said, turning away from him and looking towards Summer.

"Head Commander, I have several thing I would like to discuss with you." Winter said formally. She placed her hands behind her back and stood straight.

"Of course." Summer replied a smile on her lips as she looked at the impotent rage on Zeus's face. Winter turned her head, glaring at Zeus out of the corner of her eye.

"You may go." She ordered matter-of-factly. Zeus turned and left quickly, practically storming out of the medical tent.

"The nerve of that man, to treat his superiors with such disrespect is unbecoming." Winter hissed, contempt in her voice. Summer smiled.

"Walk with me." She said, directing an open palm at the door. Winter nodded following the Guardian in lockstep. Heels clacking on the ground.

"I apologize for interrupting back there." Winter began as they started to stroll near a park, a small river lazily flowing next to them.

"No need. I was only planning on castrating the man." Summer said matter-of-factly. Winter paused for a moment, a look of honest surprise appearing on the younger god's face, but she quickly recovered.

"I understand that you proposed doing that some time ago as well."

"My patience with Zeus has run thin. His arrogance annoys me."

"I was always told you were the nicer of Ruby's parents." Winter noted, a sense of uncertainty entering her voice.

"I am, Taiyang wouldn't have listened to Jaune Arc."

"I see." Winter said. A pregnant silence permeated the air before Winter began again. "What do you know of Valhalla?" She asked.

Summer blinked and stopped walking. "The birthplace of the Gods, it was destroyed in the distant past by Fenrir after the Gods foolishly left a portal to Valhalla open."

"There is more to it. Director Ironwood found interesting evidence in Valhalla before his passing. I kept tabs on Valhalla ever since."

"So?"

"Ozpin has traveled back to Valhalla several times since Fenrir was first discovered." Winter began he pulled a small envelope out of her pants pocket. "We took a picture. Look in his left hand." She said offering the picture. Summer took it. The picture was granular and a little fuzzy but it was clearly Ozpin. He was holding something hammer-like in his left hand; it looked something like a mallet. Summer's eyes widened. She had never seen the actual thing only paintings.

"Is that the actual thing?" She asked.

'We don't know for sure. But it seems likely."

"Why does he need Mjlonir?"

"The better question is: how can he even carry a Greater God's weapon?"

Winter asked. Cocking an eyebrow.

'I don't know. Only Greater Gods can carry such a caliber of weapon. Us lesser gods couldn't lift such a thing." Summer muttered, trying to think of an answer.

'All the Greater Gods died in the Fall of Valhalla." Winter reminded her.

"Or so we assumed. How hard would it be for records to be misplaced or manipulated?"

Winter shrugged "the Fall was complete chaos. It probably would not have been to hard to change documentation but some of the telltale signs of a Greater God such as golden aura, glowing eyes and the ability to cast magic would have given them away."

"Magic can be hidden, and maybe glasses could hide or cast an illusion over the glowing eyes…" Summer mused hesitating on what was the most glaring flaw in this theory.

'But Ozpin's aura is green." Winter pointed out. Pocketing the picture.

'No simple answers then." Summer muttered.

"I didn't expect one. But I was hoping to ask a favor, could you go to Valhalla and examine some of the ruins? Maybe it will give us a hint as to what Ozpin is after in Valhalla."

'Do you think it is something dangerous?" Summer asked, reluctant to believe Ozpin had any intention of harming the Gods. What he did was suspicious, not outright treasonous.

"No, but I didn't become director from a lack of skepticism. And the timing of the visits coincides with the appearance of Fenrir. It is possible they are connected."

Summer nodded, "I'll get on it right away." She said steel in her voice.

Winter left soon after, being Director of Vytal's intelligence organization was busy work after all. She didn't have the time to hunt down personal hunches. Summer took that onto herself.

That was why, in the middle of the night Summer was sneaking into the office of the Lord General. Summer had dozens of theories as to what was going on. Mostly she hoped she had misidentified the hammer, it would have explained everything. If anyone else had shown her that photo and claimed Ozpin had Mjlinor she probably wouldn't have believed them, but Winter was not known for making assumptions. She became Director through merit, not family connections.

Summer turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. She grinned to herself, _Ozpin left the door unlocked._ She thought almost giddy with the lapse in security. She had imagined it would be much harder to get in than it was. She eased the door open and slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

"Summer?" A voice asked, calm and relaxed. Summer swore.

"Damnit." She groaned.

"You might have used another way if you intended to slip in and examine my office." Ozpin said calmly, flicking a light on. The spacious but sparse office burst with light, forcing Summer to cover her eyes briefly. She tensed, prepared for a lethal strike.

"I have no intention of harming you. You'll have to forgive my deception of late, there is a lot more going on than you think."

"Deception of late? I think you have been deceiving us from the beginning." Summer commented. She was tense and contemplating how she could effectively avoid the wrath of a Greater God.

"He stood and let his aura glow around him, He removed his glasses, vibrant green eyes stared into Summer's silver ones. Ozpin's aura also began to slowly change, the bright green changing to a deep gold color.

"So it's true." Summer said. Relaxing slightly, if he was doing this, the odds of her attacking were less, not gone but certainly reduced.

Ozpin nodded. "After the fall of Valhalla the remaining Gods needed someone to help them rebuild, but any of the Greater Gods would be seen as divisive. We _failed_ Summer. We failed to protect Valhalla, we failed to stop Fenrir, and we failed to save the lives of those we were pledged to serve. A Greater God would have been worshipped as a kings by some, hated as a tyrant by others."

"So instead you take control through a perception of merit?"

"I won't say it was just that, but yes, it was close to that I suppose."

"You suppose?"

'There are things that would shake the very foundation of Vytal, you'll have to forgive me if I don't feel entirely confident that you, or anybody else for that matter, are ready to hear them yet."

Summer looked at Ozpin with suspicion, he was hiding things, things he had yet to mention. "So exactly what is your aim?"

"Do you know of Yggdrasil?" Ozpin asked.

"Of course, it gives life to everything. It reformed the world after the last time Fenrir appeared."

"Yes, he felled the tree causing the worlds to collapse."

'What does that have to do with what is happening now?"

"Remnant is different from the other worlds, things are the same but different. I suspect Remnant has a unique connection with Yggdrasil."

"In what way?"

"I don't know the particulars. But I suspect the connection is different. I fear there may be a way to directly reach the tree through Remnant."

"What do you mean?" Summer asked. Ozpin smiled slightly, as if he had achieved everything he wanted in this meeting. He turned and sat back down in his chair. He waved to an open chair across from him.

"Sit, Head Commander Summer Rose. We have much to discuss."

Summer cautiously sat down, still suspicious of this god. He was an enigma, which god was he? She need to find out, such a long deception meant he was clever, but most of the gods had gone unaccounted for he could be virtually any of them.

Summer crossed her arms and legs; she had a slight frown on her face as she glared at Ozpin. "Then talk."


	13. Chapter 13

Beta: hirshja

* * *

"Who are you? How do you know Ruby?" Nora asked, cocking her head to one side. Ren almost laughed, recalling the woman's opinion that Nora had some idea who she was.

Nevertheless Ren's mind was reeling, it didn't make sense. There was absolutely no way that Weiss Schnee, was on Remnant. She had no way to get there, not to mention she looked quite different. Even if it did explain the white hair.

The woman looked mildly surprised at Nora's question. A wry grin appeared on her face. Ren supposed it was supposed to look friendly, or amusing, instead it looked downright terrifying.

"You're almost as big a dolt as Ruby." She said.

"Hey! Only Weiss is allowed to call her that!" Nora said a smile on her face.

Weiss seemed to not recognize the sarcasm. She stare din shock before turning to Ren. "How is she alive? How has Grimm not eaten her yet? How does she know how to _breathe_?"

"I think she was being sarcastic Weiss." Ren said calmly.

He was uncomfortable with calling this person Weiss, they didn't look at all alike, but for the time being he would play along and find out if this really was Weiss, or just some trap Fenrir had set up.

Weiss groaned before reaching for the cell door. It opened with a crack and she walked inside. Undoing the cuffs with practiced speed she began to speak.

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions. What am I doing here. Why do I look like this, what am I planning, why didn't I return to Vytal-"

"Do you have pancakes?" Nora interrupted.

Weiss spun to stare at the goddess. Her face contorted into something between rage and confusion.

"I'm sure we can make some later Nora." Ren stated. The face was typical Weiss, his doubts eased slightly. He rubbed his wrists as his cuffs were undone.

"But yes, an explanation would be extremely helpful."

"Then follow me." She began leaving the cell. She paused for a moment "And on Remnant, I am called Salem, use that name anywhere that isn't private."

"Isn't that the name of the evil witch from the story you always used to tell Ruby?" Nora asked.

Salem smiled fondly, "Yes, yes it is." She whispered. Her face-hardened into a regal expression and she strode back in the direction she came from, Ren and Nora followed.

"I got cut off from the others on a mission. There were too many Grimm and communications were down." Salem began.

* * *

_Weiss rushed through the forest, bounding over a nearby Grimm, A quick slice and the Grimm fell, fading into darkness almost immediately. Weiss let out a gasp; she was exhausted and drenched in sweat. She glanced left then right. She heard a growl and began to sprint again. She bound over a fallen tree, struggling to continue forward. Her legs burned and she felt like if she stopped she would never begin again._

" _Where is that dolt?" She muttered as she stumbled upon a clearing. Her heart sank as she saw Grimm come out of the wooded forest behind her. She turned to face forward, and saw several large Grimm, she couldn't get through all of them in her condition._

* * *

"Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Yggdrasil had other plans for me."

* * *

_In the middle of the clearing, Weiss saw the air start to warp and bend, as if there was a crack in the fabric of reality. She immediately recognized it as the beginnings of a portal like those she walked through to get to this hellhole of a world. She dashed for it leaped in just as the portal opened. But where she went was not Shade tower as she had expected. Instead, in front of her was a vast old tree, It looked aged and withered there were countless branches reaching up to somewhere she couldn't see. But the tree was the only thing she saw, all around her was darkness._

* * *

"You see, the world tree feeds off of strong emotions, Joy, anger, fear, love. The feed the tree and keep it alive, in turn, it sustains the worlds, such as Valhalla and Vytal."

"And Remnant."

'Actually no."

"No?" Ren asked as they stopped at the end of the hallway. The stone flooring uneven beneath them but Weiss, or Salem, seemed to have no trouble walking through them in heels. Ren wondered why they stopped.

"No, Remnant was formed from the remains of the worlds after the last Ragnarok. It is, for some reason, not connected to the tree and as such, the laws of Yggdrasil do not necessarily apply."

"But Yggdrasil would be destroyed by Ragnarok, its laws would not apply to any worlds. Besides, there is still gravity here!" Ren said tapping his foot on the stones.

Salem nodded. "That is why I said necessarily. But that is not the most relevant part of Yggdrasil, at least not right now.

What do you know of Lord-general Ozpin?"

"He was a war hero, he fought in the last war and served under Odin, King of the gods."

Salem laughed. "Well, I suppose that it true. What if I told you he is trying to initiate Ragnarok again?"

"Bullshit." Ren said, gritting his teeth. He had little idea of what was going on with this Salem person who claimed to be Weiss, but he would never believe that Ozpin wanted the deaths of everyone. He knew Ozpin, he always fought for the best interests of the gods even when it made him unpopular, he always did what he believed was right.

"It's not. He may not be intending to bring back Ragnarok, but he is."

"I don't think you need to explain this. I've heard enough" Ren said turning to leave. "Let's go Nora."

'Nope, sorry Ren." Nora said calmly. Ren paused to stare at his friend. She had her arms crossed; her face wore a serious expression.

"Explain." She demanded, staring at Salem. A slight smile showed on Salem's face.

"Thank you Nora. Now, as I was saying Yggdrasil is connected to all the worlds. It feeds them and the emotions of their inhabitants feed it."

"What does that have to do with Ragnarok." Ren asked, wishing to rush this conversation he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"It is absolutely imperative that Yggdrasil is fed heightened emotions constantly. It does not need a lot, but sometimes, it needs a push. And so, it creates grimm."

Ren froze, Grimm were created by a tree? What were they fruit?

"So Grimm are fruit?" Nora asked.

"Nora, I know you are screwing with me, please stop." Salem asked

"Nope." Nora replied popping the P. Salem rolled her eyes.

"Grimm cause strong emotions such as fear and anger, they are also attracted to those emotions, and their presence understandably heightens them. Same goes for those who kill Grimm. What does a person feel when they are saved from a Grimm?"

'Hope." Ren muttered.

Salem nodded. "Exactly."

'but Ozpin is killing the grimm at an unprecedented pace, and the enforced peace on many worlds under the protection of the guardians means that most people do not feel those strong emotions, without a sense of hate there is no sense of love, same goes for other emotions. Therefore, Yggdrasil creates more Grimm to make up the difference."

"and the lord general becomes more aggressive, causing a cycle." Ren surmised.

'When the number of Grimm are too low and Yggdrasil cannot get enough energy for an extended period of time, Fenrir appears. Fenrir is the incarnation of Yggdrasil." Salem explained

"In effect, Fenrir is Yggdrasil." Nora said calmly. Her face betraying a sense of concern.

"Of course, the more Grimm Fenrir has access to, the more he can control and the more fear he can elicit. Fenrir then tries to resolve the problem by removing whatever is causing the lack of emotions."

"Which just so happens to be the gods."

"Thus the fall of Valhalla. If he can't remove the problem he takes more drastic measures and destroys everything, the emotional power reaches a critical mass, and new worlds are born in the ashes of the old."

"So how do we stop it?" Nora asked. "that is what you are trying to do right?"

Salem nodded.

"Remnant had survivors from the last Ragnarok, and it is not connected to the tree, but the fear created by the Grimm feeds the tree anyway. So while the tree does not sustain Remnant, Remnant sustains the tree."

"However since it is the emotions tied to the Grimm that reach the tree, that means fear and other negative emotions." Ren said.

"you're catching on." Salem said. She opened the large door the had been standing in front of. It lead to a tall marble staircase.

"Until recently, I had trouble eliciting enough fear due to a certain School's headmaster. He opposed my goals at ever step, killing the Grimm under my control. Fortunately he has been removed from the picture. Unfortunately, the group he led still remains, and they will cause problems."

"But isn't it too late? Fenrir is already here."

"Like at Valhalla, Fenrir will go dormant when enough Emotional energy is absorbed by the tree. My goal is, simply put, give Yggdrasil a sustainable amount of energy." Salem reached the to and looked out onto darkened skies. She turned to look at the two gods who had followed her.

"If I can make a sustainable amount of emotional energy on remnant alone, Grimm should stop appearing elsewhere. There will be no need for the gods to intervene. A balance will be created."

"And Ruby won't be put in danger like you were."

* * *

_Branches wrapped around Weiss as she screamed, this wasn't how she wanted to die. She didn't ant to die alone, without her friends, with her teammates, without Ruby._

" _Hush my Child. Take my knowledge, take my power, and protect those you hold so dear." A deep voice whispered. Images flashed before her eyes images of Valhalla, of burning buildings. Images of grimm, mauling and tearing their way through entire worlds._

" _A balance must be maintained, there are those who wish to upset it, ignorant of the consequences. Help me, for I have none else to turn to."_

_The branches loosened and one spread below her, presenting itself as something for her to stand on. She looked at this tree, this being that was alive and yet not alive, that thought and felt like her and others and yet was beyond comprehension to gods and mortals alike._

" _now go, I promise you will you see your friends again." Weiss was thrown through another portal landing on a grassy field. She looked at her hands, her skin paler than normal. She realized what she had to do. What she would sacrifice. Buts she would return, while there was life there was hope. She clung to the tree's promise, that she would see her friends again, but more than that, that she would see Ruby again._

* * *

"Yes."

"Why not go back to Vytal? Why not tell everyone the truth? Your sister is the Director of Intelligence you were the Winter maiden! People would believe you." Nora asked

Salem smiled slightly. "What do I look like to you?"

"A corrupted god." Ren said, already coming to a simple conclusion.

"I don't know what Yggdrasil wants, or if it even has higher thinking abilities beyond concern for its own survival. I can only assume that granting powers to lesser beings results in a more… Grimm-like appearance. I'm quite sure that if I appeared in Vytal, assuming I had a way to get there, I would not be welcomed warmly." She paused before looking at them her gaze fierce.

"Now, will you help me? Will you help me to save billions of lives?" She asked.

"By turning this world into a hellish place, and ruin the lives of everyone here?" Ren asked.

"The old worlds had their time, one world, and a few innocent lives to save countless more? It is not a pleasant choice, but it is the right one." Salem said. Ren looked at her, wondering exactly what had caused Weiss Schnee to become the woman, Salem, that now stood in front of him. He saw certainty in her eyes, as if she had desperately tried to find another solution and had failed.

"Do you truly believe this is the best solution? That what you are doing is a necessary evil?" Ren asked.

"Yes, I do." Salem said calmly. There was a hint of guilt in her eyes, as if she wanted nothing more than to not do this. Ren was lost, help a friend commit a act of evil to save everyone they knew and cared about, or fight her right now, and possibly condemn everyone they ever cared about to death.

Ren looked at Nora, Nora looked back. Salem stared at them both, uncertainty in her eyes, but a sliver of hope too. With Professor Ozpin rotting in the cells beneath them, his group would quickly fracture, and then, after stopping Lord-General Ozpin, she could go back to Vytal and reunite with Team RWBY. They could be a family again. She couldn't think of a better outcome.

She waited for their response, hoping for, yet dreading the answer. What she was doing was a necessary evil in this world necessary for everyone, but she would rather not have to do it alone.


	14. Yang

Beta: Hirshja

* * *

Yang Xiao Long, boisterous bruiser of Team RWBY had faced foes that most would never dare to. She had fought on dozens of worlds; in the process killing countless Grimm and seeing her friends fall to the darkness they fight against. She had even watched her own sister fall into a pit of depression that no pun or joke seemed to be able to help her with.

For all of that, she still wasn't ready to deal with this!

Yang stood in front of a wooden door. Behind the door was a girl. Yang hadn't seen her yet, but still knew exactly what she would look like.

Long golden hair, lilac eyes, a stunning body, and a complete and total badass. After all, they would likely look the same.

She raised her hand and knocked on the door, taking a deep breath as she did so.

"Go away dad." Came a muffled voice. Yang's heart sank as she heard the tone. It was one with barely any hope, and no anger, or sadness, just exhaustion. She grabbed the door handle and twisted; pushing the door open, she walked into the room. From the bed Lilac eyes widened, clearly she was not who the girl was expecting.

"You're… me." She whispered. Yang nodded a slight grin on her face. She did a playful curtsy. "Yang Xiao long, Goddess of beating the crap outta things at your service."

* * *

Across the island of Patch, Taiyang Xiao-Long was having an undeniably worse time.

"At least she doesn't have that axe." He muttered as he weaved out of the way of Ruby's scythe. He was thankful for the little things. Like the fact that this Ruby hadn't fought him before, the fact that she didn't seem to fight on sand much or the fact that she only had one massive oversized weapon with her.

"Thank goodness for the little things", he thought gently as Ruby lost her footing on the soft sand. She hissed as she slid sideways, opening herself up to a devastating punch. Taiyang struck. His fist, coated in concentrated aura smashed into her side and he felt the resistance of aura give way. On instinct, he pulled back from following through, fearing that the injury would be fatal if he did not.

Ruby hurtled through the air struggling to regain her balance before slamming shoulder first into the sand. She activated her semblance momentarily, pushed off the ground, and used the remaining momentum of Taiyang's punch to twirl in the air and land on her feet. Digging her feet into the sand, she slowed herself to a stop and looked up at Taiyang.

He was smiling smugly – an unforgettable grin on his face. It was the same one that she had seen on her own father's face so many times as a child. When she and Summer had baked cookies, when she had first built her weapon, when she…. Rage boiled within her; rage and a helpless frustration.

"Stop smiling!" She screamed as she charged forward.

Taiyang dodged a particularly obvious swing, then grabbed Ruby's leg. He flung the goddess into a nearby tree.

"I smile, so what? did your dad not do that much?" Taiyang teased. Every part of him thought that this was wrong, that this wasn't something he should be doing. He could only imagine how his Ruby would act if another Summer appeared. Hell, how would he react?

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Ruby shrieked, charging in again, any sense of strategy abandoned in favor of a mindless rage. Taiyang deftly dodged the scythe, several times changing it's trajectory with the back of his hand. "You never got to say goodbye did you?" He asked as she charged forward once again. The look of shock on her face told him all he needed to know.

Taiyang hunched down, and threw a vicious uppercut into Ruby's stomach. The combined force of Ruby's charge and Taiyang's strike shattered what little remained of Ruby's armor, and she lost grip of her weapon as she gasped for air. She tumbled onto the sandy shore. She glanced up at Taiyang.

"How…are you… so strong?" She gasped out, saliva dripping from her mouth.

"Practice, practice makes perfect." Taiyang said. He rolled his arm, working the tightened muscles. He mentally checked his own aura. Condensing aura and then using it as a substitute for his weapon tended to exhaust his supply quite quickly. He was low on aura; thank goodness he hadn't taken any blows.

He paused looking down. "You were holding back weren't you?" Taiyang asked, a hint of a smile on his lips. It was amusing to see a child underestimate him, he could probably make a lesson out of this in class at Signal or something…

Ruby sighed pushing herself off the ground.

She clutched her side leaning slightly. She looked worse for the wear, her ponytail having come undone, letting her hair spread around and cover part of her face. But she was already standing, an impressive feat since Taiyang hadn't held back on the last punch. One of his punches could shatter dust-enhanced concrete. He hadn't even gone all out on Yang.

"Seems you're all better." He said, that damn grin still on his face. She glared daggers at him before stalking off back towards the house. "Men." She muttered. He shrugged. He picked up her scythe, he almost gasped at the weight of the thing. She had been hurling this thing around? It had to be five, no, six times heavier than Crescent Rose.

"What did that girl eat when she was growing?" Taiyang wondered then another thought popped into his head "Is she _still_ growing?"

He looked at the girl who was so similar to his daughter, but also so different march of towards the house. He grinned as he saw the familiar energy in her steps.

"She's pouting like when Ruby accidently got all the cookies wet on our first beach trip." He said in a slightly baby-ish tone. He threw his hands in his pockets and followed Ruby back to the house. He decided to make Cookies as a bit of a peace offering. Pissing off a god was not likely to be a good idea.

At the same time, Knight Commander Ruby Rose was busy chastising herself and punishing herself by vowing to not eat the cookies she had so carefully sneaked into her bag. Knowing full well she wouldn't keep that vow.

…Well, not for longer than a few days.

* * *

Yang Xiao-long, watched Yang Xiao-long intently.

"So," The Yang sitting in the bed said. "You are a god, have a sister who looks exactly like Ruby but is much less cheerful, and you're here to kill a super-powerful Grimm. That's about the gist of it?"

The other Yang sat on a stool her elbows resting on her knees. She smiled "That is dead on. Cool or what?"

"Sounds like a bad joke." The first Yang said, turning to stare out the window, silently hoping that ignoring the goddess would make her go away.

"Well, it's not, and my first request from your father was to turn that frown upside down."

"And how are you going to do that? Puns?" The Yang in bed asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The god Yang's expression hardened. "Tell me how you lost your arm and I'll tell you how I lost mine."

The Yang in bed's eyes widened "No. No way in hell. I'm trying to get over that, not relive it."

"Sometimes the only way to move on is to talk about it."

"You got an arm that looks exactly like a real one, if you hadn't peeled some skin off I wouldn't have thought it was a synthetic arm at all." She looked at the stump of her arm. "Mine is going to be all… metal."

"War wounds are badass. Trust me."

"I don't." She snapped.

Goddess Yang clutched her heart in mock pain. "You don't trust yourself! That is just heartbreaking!"

She relaxed after the dark aura coming from the bed made it clear her joke was not appreciated. She sighed, scratching her head and wiping her hair out of the way.

"How about I start? Then, if you feel like talking I'll be here." She offered. The silence from the bed was taken as agreement.

"I was on a mission with the rest of Team RWBY. We were going up against some crazy weird Grimm. Not like anything we had ever seen. Their blood seemed to dissolve just about anything. Weiss needed to replace Myrtenaster's blade, and Ruby was sobbing over the remains of Crimson Rose afterwards." She let out a chuckle. "It wasn't so rare for her to be emotional back then. Anyway, a massive Grimm came out of nowhere, we had no idea where it came from, and we were in the middle of an Odin-damn desert. But it comes out of nowhere and tackles Ruby to the ground." She spreads her arms. "One of it's small teeth was this big and razor sharp. And it went to eat Rubes. I freaked."

"What did you do?" Yang asked, enraptured by the goddess's story.

God Yang laughed. "I shoved my fist in its mouth and set off the biggest aura enhanced blast I could. Blew the back of its head into a million pieces, didn't stop the jaw from coming crashing down on my arm, Aura probably would have taken the damage if I hadn't blown the damn things head out, the blood wiped out my aura and well…" She looked down and gently rubbed her prosthetic. "The rest is history."

"You just went on?" Yang asked incredulously, the goddess shook her head. "No, I was bedridden for a weak. Blake marched up to me, dumped a prosthetic on my bed, and demanded I get up. When I refused, she laid out how badly the team was taking my self-pity. It hurt, knowing I was dragging all my friends down with me. I pushed on for them at first and then later for myself."

"So Blake never abandoned you…" Yang said looking down at her sheets.

"There's a story there, care to share?"

"Does it matter?"

"I'm you're guardian goddess, of course it matters." She said matter-of-factly.

Yang raised an eye. A small smile playing on her face. She looked down at her sheets again. "Where to start?" She asked herself out loud, struggling to find a fitting beginning.

"How about at the beginning? Where did you first meet our lovely kitten?"

A smile sprang to Yang's face as she remembered their meeting, modified by hindsight and fond memories. "It all started after an ursa cut some of my hair off…" She began.

The goddess smiled at how Yang had begun, they weren't that different after all. She shifted her posture into a position better suited for a long story.

It was even better than she had imagined. It was actually heartwarming. But the battle of Beacon was a dark point. Yang also spilled how she lost her arm. The goddess made a special note to punish Adam Taurus with extreme prejudice if she ever came across him.

"And then I woke up on Patch." Yang concluded.

The goddess nodded in understanding. "So you feel she abandoned you when you needed her the most." Yang nodded slightly. The goddess stood up, "Well, there is only one thing to do then."

"What?"

"Well, ask her why she left of course." By this point, Yang had shoved Fenrir and the mission to the back of her mind, Ruby's words from so long ago coming back to her.

"We're supposed to be helping people right? Make the worlds better places and all that awesomeness."

How right you were Ruby, if only you could grasp that again. The goddess thought.

Yang gave a thumbs up, and Yang stared at her with a mixture of confusion and hope, with maybe a mild drop of concern over the goddess's mental health.

"And you Ms. Xiao Long, are coming with us." She said with a grin. Ruby is so gonna be pissed about this.

Well, It would be payback for all the moping Rubes had put her through.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Sorry It has been awhile, The last few weeks were unexpectedly busy! Plus my computer needed repairs. I never realized how much I am actually on my computer in my free time...
> 
> Hopefully things will calm down. In order to make sure these delays don't happen again, I probably won't be posting until late August. When I write enough for there to be a comfortable margin between the released chapter and where I'm at plot-wise I'll start posting again.
> 
> Special thanks to Hirshja for his edits and input.
> 
> Please follow, favorite and review!


	15. Yin and Yang

And we're back!

Now back to Yang, Yang #2 and Ruby

Beta: Hirshja

* * *

"Yang. We are not chasing a mortal's mother across the planet." Ruby said, rubbing her forehead.

It had started soon after Ruby returned from her fight with Taiyang. Taiyang had immediately wandered into the kitchen, muttering something about baking. She could smell the baking cookie dough. She tried to think of other things while she waited for Yang to appear from wherever she had wandered off to. Anything to avoid her will from breaking at the smell of fresh cookies.

It hadn't taken long for her elder sister to arrive with her Remnant version. Ruby had briefly stared. The mortal looked tired, but there was certainly fire in her eyes. From what Taiyang had implied, it seemed like his daughter had no energy left at all.

A deep sense of dread swirled in Ruby's stomach.

"Yang, what is going on?" She asked warily. Frightened by what her sister might say.

Her sister walked down the staircase, a large grin on her face.

"Yang wants to find her mother, we're going to help her!" She said proudly.

Ruby felt like someone had just dropped an anvil on her. She slumped slightly.

"Yang, we can't do that. We have to complete our mission."

"We can do that at the same time! Plus, Remnant's Raven seems to be a powerful fighter, she'd be a huge asset in the fight against Fenrir!"

"We can't just let mortals get involved in this! It's unprofessional!" Ruby exclaimed, Yang constantly pulled stunts like this, it caused her to get herself hurt and Ruby had let it go on long enough.

"Damn with being professional Rubes! Who cares? Our job is to help people!"

"Our job is to keep them safe! It is not the same thing!"

"It's our job as gods! It's what dad would have done!"

"Yeah! And Dad is dead!" Ruby shouted. "If you want to follow him be my guest! But don't go dragging me into your mess!"

Yang stared at her younger sister reeling from the verbal assault. Something snapped inside of her, a barrier was broken. She looked at her sister. Ruby's face was red, she was angry. Yang closed her eyes, knowing she would regret saying-

"If you can't be professional you shouldn't have joined the guardians." Ruby hissed.

That did it.

Yang's eyes glowed red. She didn't even notice Taiyang walk out with half-burnt cookies.

"You want to know what happened to dad? You want to know why he's dead?"

Ruby paled, her eyes wide-open.

"It's Qrow's fault. He was drunk and massively hung-over, he thought he didn't have a problem. He promised to stop early and get some rest. He didn't." Yang continued her anger steadily rising. "Then when everyone was needed to fight the largest Grimm assault ever, our uncle was drunk and unconscious under a fucking table. If he had stopped, our dad would still be alive."

"Stop it Yang." Ruby muttered weakly, her eyes red.

"Our uncle is a flunkie! He was a pathetic alcoholic. Now he's even worse, he's a womanizer and an idiot. He's weak, definitely unprofessional, and the only reason Summer lets him come around is so he doesn't hang himself from the guilt and shame!"

"Stop insulting our family!" Ruby screamed.

"Stop hiding Ruby, your professional act didn't save anyone. It didn't save Blake and it sure as hell wouldn't have saved Weiss." Yang snarled.

"Yang!" Taiyang exclaimed. He stared at the goddess in shock. Yang looked at him, her anger waning. A look of horror came over her as she understood what she had just said. She turned to look at Ruby, staring as tears flowed down her face.

"Ruby I-"

"You can be… so terribly cruel Yang. You don't understand… but then again, I wonder if you ever could." Ruby said weakly before vanishing, leaving rose petals in her wake.

"That… was not how I expected that to go." The Remnant Yang said weakly, trying to brighten the mood.

"I didn't mean- I was so angry, she always…" Yang began to say, the gravity of what she had just said dawning on her.

Taiyang raised his hand. "I'll talk to her, see if I can do anything." He glared icily at Yang, causing the goddess to reflexively tighten.

Taiyang walked out of the front of the house, closing the door behind him. The two Yangs sat on the couch. The goddess rubbed her face.

"You two are close, aren't you?" The mortal asked gently.

Yang nodded, but said nothing.

"My sister and I are close too. But I can't really say I'm ready to meet up with her; too much has happened."

"Not ready for what?" The goddess asked quietly. Her voice muffled by her hands.

The mortal Yang combed her hair through her fingers, playing with the edges. She shifted nervously, not saying anything for a few moments. She sighed in defeat, reminding the goddess of what she herself did with Ruby when she had asked for, then demanded more cookies.

"It feels like that was so long ago." She thought. Glancing at the mirror image of herself sitting next to her, a small smirk rose " _For this Yang, it would be a really long time ago._ "

"What are you smiling at?" The mortal Yang asked Quizzically.

"Just thinkin'." The goddess said.

"About what?"

"Well, my name's Yang, and your name is also Yang, won't this get confusing?" She asked.

The other Yang shrugged. "Well probably, but what do you want to do about it?"

"One of us clearly needs a new name. Like a nickname." The goddess said a wide smile coming to her face as she thought of the various nicknames that popped into her head. Oh, so many of them would be embarrassing.

"Okay, I'll call you Yin." The mortal said quickly, pre-empting the goddess.

"But that's-" She began to protest

"Yin and Yang. Admit it, I'm awesome." Yang said proudly.

Yin barked out a laugh, "Not half bad". She said. She stood, another thought coming into her head, Taiyang was taking awhile and sitting and moping wasn't exactly useful. She paused as she looked at her equipment. Ember Celica was still in place, but even she had to admit she stood out like a sore thumb. Scale armor didn't seem to match the style that Remnant preferred on its hunters, and Ruby's clothes were a wreck.

"Hey Yang." Yin said.

"Yeah?" Yang replied.

"Anywhere I could get some clothes?" She asked.

* * *

Yin had expected a clothes store, but instead she found herself being tossed clothes from Yang's closet.

"I have the perfect skirt to go with that shirt!" Yang called from her closet.

Yin cringed. While she could easily see the benefits of the mobility Yang's miniskirts would provide, they all screamed attention. While she wouldn't complain about people staring at her, they were going on a stealth mission to find a woman who had practically vanished years ago.

Yin sighed looking at the pink tank top she was provided with. She dropped it on the floor and walked into the closet.

"How about I pick something?" She proposed.

Yang turned to her playfully, a smile on her lips. "Beggars can't be choosers~" She sang.

"Yang, while I would usually be happy to wear these clothes, we are going on a stealth mission." Yin pointed out.

Yang's smile vanished. She looked slightly downcast.

"What's wrong?" Yin asked, confused as to the sudden change in mood.

"Do you think we'll run into Ruby?"

"Maybe, but first we have to get the rest of your team together."

"We're finding Blake and Weiss?" Yang asked, handing Yin a pair of jeans.

"Yep. Where are they by the way?" Yin said nonchalantly while she nodded approvingly, taking the jeans and picking a white T-shirt from a drawer.

"Weiss is stuck in Atlas with her father. No idea where Blake is though." Yang replied, grabbing a black leather belt and handing it to Yin.

"Well, it won't be too hard to find Blake, but we'll go after Weiss first then." Yin said, burying the dread pooling in her gut. She could only imagine how Ruby would react to seeing Weiss.

She was snapped from her thoughts when a green canvas jacket was shoved into her arms.

"This and some black shoes should complete the look." Yang said. Yin nodded, pushing her thoughts aside for the time being. She watched as Yang left the closet.

"Get changed. I have to get changed too though, so don't take too long."

Yin pulled on the jeans and shirt. She threw on the jacket and glanced at the mirror attached to the door. She smiled as she took a longer look at herself. The outfit didn't scream that she was dangerous, but Ember Celica made it clear that appearances could be deceiving. She walked out and turned to Yang.

"All done." She said. Yang walked in and shut the closet door behind her.

"So, what is Goddess Blake like?" Yang asked.

Yin froze. "She's… kind and caring. Still shy, but that's improved."

"So you two are close?"

"Yep."

"You must be really close, because right now, you're bright red."

"Huh?" Yin blanched, she noticed that the closet door hadn't been all the way closed. Yang was peaking out of the crack.

"You little…" Yin began.

"So, were you lovers?"

"A little forward, don't you think?" Yin asked, deciding to get her revenge.

"Answer." Yang demanded, opening the door. She was dressed in dark grey canvas gym pants, an orange shirt and a canvas jacket, the right sleeve tied in a knot near the stump of her arm.

Yin grinned. "We were lovers." She said. "In fact, she wasn't the only one."

"What do you mean?" Yang asked; her curiosity piqued.

"Well, all relationships need a few things, sugar, spice, blah blah blah. You get my drift?"

"No." Yang said glowering.

Yin grinned widely with her hands on her hips. The wheels churning in her mind.

"Well, Weiss and Blake were fond of each other…"

"Wait!" Yang exclaimed a huge grin on her face mixed with shock "You were a ménage á trois?"

"Oh please, think bigger."

When Yang didn't respond, Yin decided to continue. "Blake and her smut brought some creativity, Weiss brought the spice, I brought the passion, but who do you think brought the purity of love?"

Yin smiled widely as she saw Yang piece together the implications, the look of confusion changing first to shock and then to horror. Yang grew paler and paler.

Yin struggled not to laugh.

"Trust me, it's fun." She said in a sultry voice.

Yang shrieked, covering her face.

Yin burst out laughing, unable to contain herself anymore.

For Yang, it was horrifying, for Yin it was glorious.

* * *

Ruby walked back into the house, followed by Taiyang. The first thing she saw was Yang charge up to her father. She watched as Yang grabbed her father and frantically let out a flurry of words. Few of which, Ruby decided, had any relation to each other.

"Yang! Calm down! What's wrong?" Taiyang asked frantically.

"Yin said she and Blake were lovers, then Weiss came in and I thought it was kinda cool. But then she added Ruby to the mix!"

"What? Who's Yin?"

"The other Yang! But that doesn't matter she had sex with-"

"YANG!" Ruby screamed.

"It was just a joke!" Yin said, rushing down the stairs two at a time.

"I can't get that image out of my mind!" Yang shrieked. "I can't forget that!"

"What did you tell her?" Taiyang asked, glaring at Yin.

Yin shrugged. "I may have in implied that Team RWBY was… close?" The last word came out as a whisper.

"YANG." Ruby said marching up to her sister. "What did you tell her?"

"She said team RWBY hooked up with each other!" Yang snarled.

Everyone stared at Yin. Yin looked at Yang.

Taiyang lowered his daughter to the couch. He then stood staring at Yin, bloody murder in his eyes.

"It was just a joke… We didn't actually add Ruby to the mix." Yin said defensively.

Ruby cracked her knuckles.

Yin gulped. Still totally worth it. She thought as Ruby and Taiyang gave her a beat-down she would never forget.

* * *

_A/N Sorry for the long delay in chapter releases. It took longer than expected to make enough of a buffer, then real life got involved and well, stuff happens. Anyway, we should be back on a weekly release schedule. Also, we have our first Beta note! Everyone say hi to Hirshja!_

B/N: Hey so I'm the guy who's been working behind the scenes starting last chapter. Most of what I've been doing is helping out with editing grammar and such as making the story flow better, but sometimes I'll also be helping out with ideas and such. I'm only human though, just like DeamonHunter. So sometimes I'll miss things. If there's ever another long delay between chapters, it could just as easily be my fault as Deamon's. Life chose a really awful time to start collecting its time debt from me, so theres been constant stuff happening on my end. That said, I'll do my best to help Deamon stay ahead of the story so that we can get a chapter to you as often as possible.

_Remember to Follow, favorite and Review!_

_Thanks for reading_.


	16. Remorse

Beta: Hirshja

* * *

Mistral

Fenrir sat in the sun. The sun was warm; it was nice. He didn't want to get up. It was just so peaceful here, no Grimm to terrorize everything, no shadows, just a bright gorgeous day. The grass was green, the sky was blue, and there was a cloud in the shape of an ursa in the Sky.

Fenrir stretched his arms and legs, grinning as he did so. It was times like these that burning the world down really didn't appeal to him, he got that he had to do it, but waiting a few years wouldn't be a problem. He reached out for his double chocolate milkshake that was resting on the grass beside him. He sat up and bent the straw towards him. He took a long sip. A happy sigh followed as he looked up at the sky again. He closed his eyes. It was so quiet. Ren and Nora were off training, and so he had nothing to do. He closed his eyes and put the milkshake down next to him. Using his arms as a makeshift pillow, he curled up.

"I could take a nap right here." He muttered gently. As he began to drift off to sleep he felt the wind shift, and with it heard an ear-shattering explosion.

"Ren! You went out of bounds!" Nora exclaimed. Fenrir's eyes snapped open. Ren was next to him.

"Ren, what's going on?" Fenrir asked.

"Ready or not here I come!" Nora shouted. Leaping forwards, she raised her warhammer, cackling all the while, and struck where Ren had been standing next to Fenrir.

Fenrir, leapt away, dodging the hammer as well as the explosion, Ren dodged but was hurled away by the explosion.

Nora was laughing away standing in a large crater. However, Fenrir noticed something far more important. Where until moments ago, his milkshake had been, the broken straw now stuck up out of the ground, the milkshake itself having been evaporated by the explosion.

"No!" he roared dramatically, dropping to his knees at the same time. He wept as he remembered the flavor of his beloved milkshake.

"Sorry about that Fen!" Nora said. Fenrir glared at her, the wind dramatically blowing across the grassy plain.

"You… You monster! My milkshake will be avenged!" he roared, pointing in anger at Nora.

Nora grinned. "Alright! You and me! Mono a mono! Let's fight!"

Three seconds later, Ren was checking to make sure Nora didn't have any lasting injuries. "Ren! Can you make pancakes? I'm really hungry. My stomach feels like it's all over the place." Nora whined.

"Nora, first, that's pain. Second, no, I doubt you would be able to keep food down anyway." Ren said, giving Fenrir a mildly annoyed look.

Fenrir raised his hand. "Sorry Nora, don't know what came over me."

"No prob Fen! Wish we could have fought longer though."

"No Nora. No, you don't." Ren chastised.

Nora dramatically grabbed Ren's arm. "Ren… My dear friend…" She choked out.

"Why are you talking like that? Do you need a lozenge?" Ren asked.

"Avenge me! For I… Have fallen… Bleh." Nora rasped, rolling her head to the side and sticking her tongue out.

"Is she okay?" Fenrir asked, worried about his new friend.

"She's fine." Ren said standing up. "Let's get some pancakes, without Nora."

"Traitor!" She exclaimed leaping up and tackling Ren.

"I see what you mean." Fenrir said cheerfully, glad his friend was unharmed.

"Get off me Nora!" Ren exclaimed in a calm voice (as only Ren could), struggling to get his childhood friend off his back. Fenrir laughed as Nora attempted to imitate a sloth.

It was going to be an interesting day.

Meanwhile, on the Island of Patch, Ruby stormed out of the Xiao Long household.

Her sister had just snapped at her, unleashing memories better kept locked away. Shame, failure, missed expectations, judgment; all of it came back to her in a single torrent. The emotions she had buried all those years ago rose to the surface. The fear and uncertainty bursting forth like a great flood.

She had fled the house before what little remained of her calm façade broke completely. Moments after slamming the front door behind her, what little remained of her self control shattered. She dropped to her knees on the front porch, and immediately burst into tears. As she wept, she curled up, knees clutched to her chest. Her sobs wracked her body as she wrapped her arms around her knees. Memories of Weiss and Blake, of happy times and of hard times flashed through her mind. She hadn't cried for years, not since Weiss went missing. She still recalled her feelings when Weiss did not show up at the rendezvous spot. She, Yang and Blake had been forced to leave by circumstance, all of them confident that Weiss would find her way back to them.

As the hours passed into days, Yang and Blake started to lose hope. At first, it was merely fear that she had been badly injured, but their thoughts turned darker as the days passed. Ruby alone stayed completely confident in her partner's survival.

As the days passed into weeks the nagging hints of doubt began, perhaps she had been injured; she probably needed help. Ruby began to insist on leading a rescue mission.

After a full month of searching, Ruby found the broken remains of Myrtenaster. The blade broken into three parts and rusted beyond recognition, the hilt bent at an awkward angle. The weapon was damaged beyond repair. To make matters worse, Blake was able to confirm Ruby's worst fears: that the blood that had rusted the weapon was indeed Weiss's.

It was there, in a grassy field that Ruby finally broke. Her confidence in her teammates, in her partner, combined with letting them divert from the plan if they wished, had caused Weiss's death. She vowed never to make that mistake again, she wouldn't allow Yang or Blake to feel the same pain she had felt… and then Blake had been corrupted.

That was when the last of Ruby's hope had shattered.

"You know, my Ruby always cried here too." A voice said behind her. She looked up. The Blonde hair and broad frame of Taiyang Xiao Long filled her view. He gently closed the door and sat beside her on the front porch.

"This used to be a raised front porch instead of just cobblestone." He said, chuckling slightly. "Then Yang and Ruby decided to spar on it".

"Go away." Ruby muttered. She rejected this man, this man who looked and acted so much like her father.

"Nope." He said quickly. Ruby glared at him. He grinned.

"You will never win a staring contest against me, and you know it."

"Leave me alone. You have no idea-"

"Why you're crying? Why you're hurt? I loved two women, they both left me."

"Must have been a shitty dad." Ruby snapped. A feeling of pain and shame coursed through her, she immediately regretted her words.

Taiyang shrugged. "Raven left as soon as Yang was born. Summer… she died on a mission."

"You have my condolences." Ruby said stoically.

"Yang ended up taking care of Ruby for awhile, She was a much better parent figure than I ever was. I shut down." He said, a hint of remorse in his voice.

He waited for Ruby to reply, when he decided that no words were forthcoming, he continued.

"We both went through the same thing. I shut down, unable to make sense of what had happened. You… You left your emotions behind, silenced yourself so that you could continue to function." He turned Ruby was once again staring at her knees, but the water dripping from her eyes told him his was getting through.

He leaned back and sighed. "We all need time to grieve-"

"There wasn't any time." Ruby said suddenly. Taiyang paused, waiting intently. He internally was quite pleased, His daughter and this goddess had more in common than he originally suspected.

"My mother, the head commander, needed guardians to fight. It took me three weeks to convince Ozpin to allow a search and rescue mission. I found Myrtenaster in the middle of a field, rusted with blood and broken. I sent a report to my mother." She snarled the last word. "Her response was to send me on my next mission. There was a crisis, Grimm invading another world."

Taiyang sat there, stunned. Summer Rose, the loving, caring woman he knew would never do that. She would never act so coldly. Taiyang struggled to think of a reason for such a decision, he couldn't think of even one.

"I understood at some level, she can't make excuses for her daughter, Guardians lose partners and are shipped off to the field right after constantly. We're soldiers, we fight and we die."

"But you didn't even have time to let go." Taiyang said, thinking of how he felt after hearing about summer.

"We never found a body. No trace. Nothing. Just a broken weapon." Ruby said, pulling out a shard of metal from her pocket. It was rusted, the color a blackish red with streaks of a dull white appearing at times.

Taiyang immediately knew what it was; there was no need to ask.

"I've thought of putting this on a chain dozens of times, as a memento of my partner, and of how I've failed." Ruby muttered, her eyes narrowing and a scowl rising on her face in self-loathing.

"You didn't fail her." Taiyang said fiercely. Ruby's head snapped towards him, a mix of surprise and disbelief on her face.

"You searched for her, you believed in her. If you had stayed you risked the lives of your sister and her partner. Weiss would never have wanted that."

Ruby smiled sadly. "I know. But… my choices as a leader…"

"What choices? Allowing your team independence? Flexibility? Being flexible is the mark of a skilled leader, of someone who has faith in their teammates."

"I believed that once. Then Blake got corrupted, turned into a possessed being, infected by the Grimm."

"How is that your fault? Did you force her to be infected? Did you make her do something that you knew would get her infected? You may be a god, but from what I've seen, you're not omnipotent."

"I'm supposed to protect my friends."

"You're supposed to care about your friends! And I know you do."

"You hardly know me."

"You are a lot like my daughter. You expect the world of yourself. You are your own worst critic sometimes."

"That's Weiss." Ruby said, a feeling of comfort growing inside of her.

Taiyang laughed. "You care about the people around you and see the best in them. You have hope. "

"Not anymore." Ruby replied, the feeling of comfort vanishing as despair and regret replaced it.

"Then go with your sister, and find it again." Taiyang said, internally kicking himself for screwing up this father-daughter-esque conversation.

Ruby remained silent for a moment before giving a barely perceptible nod.

Taiyang stood and held his hand out for Ruby. She didn't take it, instead standing on her own. She had a mild frown on her face as she looked at Taiyang. Without a word, she walked past him and opened the front door to the Xiao Long residence.

"Thanks." She muttered, so quietly that Taiyang barely heard it, before she walked in. Taiyang chuckled slightly before walked in after her.

He heard a wail. Panic rose inside him, old fears coming to the forefront of his thoughts. Yang plowed right into him. She clung to him with an iron grip, blubbering something that he couldn't make sense of.

"It was just a joke!" Yin exclaimed, rushing down the stairs.

"What happened?" Ruby exclaimed.

Taiyang shook his head gently.

It was going to be a very interesting day.

* * *

A/N

Another week another chapter! Thanks to Hirshja for the edits! Hopefully I've outlined a little more of Ruby and given her some much needed character development.

To reply to a guest review, I have no intention of discontinuing this, a rough outline for the entire story has been written, including its eventual ending. Some of it will change, as I get input from Hirshja and discuss how to develop the upcoming Arcs. We are currently in what I am calling the "Hunt for Raven" Arc and I expect it to go on for another ten to fifteen chapters.

* * *

B/N

'Ey e'rybody. So here we are with another chapter. This one you can kind've see my footprint a little bit more in the way things are phrased. Like I kind've implied last time, I'm mostly staying hands off with anything outside of grammar, flow and phrasing (mostly due to my own inexperience doing stuff like this) but if and when there's something that Deamon wants my opinion on or that I think needs fixing or more attention paid to it or... well you get the point. Anyway, see y'all next time.


	17. The Hunt Begins

Lie Ren, Guardian Corps member, best friend of Nora Valkyrie and Friend of Knight Commander Jaune Arc, knelt to pick up ashes from the fire beneath him. As he rubbed the ash between his fingers, he glanced around, noticing no other traces that someone had resided here.

"It's still warm, we probably missed him by less than half a day." Ren said calmly.

Nora frowned, pouting cutely. "Weissy won't be happy." She said.

Ren smiled slightly, rolling his eyes. "No she won't." he replied.

Salem had insisted that they pursue Qrow Branwen first. She had sent them off to his last known location, a small town in Vacuo. They had followed his trail all the way to Shade Academy, back down south to Vale, off to several small towns, and finally to Mistral.

Ren was quickly tiring of the chase and Nora was bored. She was looking forward to fighting Qrow, who in Vytal was a famous warrior. However, he was a famous warrior who had sadly seemed to lose his edge after Taiyang Xiao-Long died. A series of one night stands and foolish self-destructive behaviors had left him a shadow of the once legendary guardian who had been a candidate for the rank Summer Rose now had.

"I'm bored, isn't there anything we can do?" Nora whined.

Ren shrugged. "Feel free to smash some of the Grimm," he offered for, what was literally, the thousandth time. Nora shook her head.

"Weiss said not to, remember?"

Ren groaned internally. Nora was like the sister he never had, but why in the world did she listen to Salem and not to him? He stood. "Nora, lets go to the nearest town, we'll see what information we can get on Qrow."

"Can we get pancakes?"

"Of course." He said with a smile.

Nora grinned widely before skipping towards the town they had passed by on their way here. Ren followed, his heart warmed by the sight of his closest friend excited over the simple things in life.

He pulled out his scroll and tapped on a contact. The scroll buzzed quietly.

* * *

Salem paced in her throne room, looking at the scroll in her hand. She gnawed on a polished nail, a habit she had picked up in Remnant. It made her feel… like herself, like she wasn't some sort of monster. That she wasn't a being of infinite darkness.

She pushed those feelings down as she brought herself back to the present, struggling to find Ozpin's elusive cabal. They had been a thorn in her side for too long. Ren and Nora coming to Remnant had been an unexpected blessing; two gods on her side had certainly given her an enviable advantage. One Ozpin's group definitely did not have.

"Nora and I are heading to a nearby town, we're hoping someone saw Qrow."

'That's unlikely." Salem responded. "His semblance allows him to transform into an actual crow, nobody would pay attention to one of those."

"I'm pretty sure a crow the size of a nevermore would attract attention." Ren argued.

"This Qrow Branwen turns into a tiny bird, not the giant Vytal Crows."

"I thought all our semblances were the same, that we, gods and mortals, were mirror versions of each other." Ren said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Salem shrugged. "That is usually the case. So far, I know of only two exceptions, Remnant seems to be a mishmash of the same and something different, similar to a slightly warped mirror."

"Did Weiss seriously just say mishmash? It sounds funny!" A chipper voice on the other side of the phone said.

Salem almost smiled as Ren rolled his eyes in exasperation. "More pancakes over here please."

"Yay! Thanks Renny!"

"She's as chipper as always." Salem commented with a wry smile.

"Yes she is. Now back to- Nora! No! You can't go into the kitchen!"

Salem laughed lightly, freezing only seconds later, glancing around to make sure nobody had heard. She cleared her throat.

"Take care Ren, and report in when you found something."

"Right. Nora stop!"

"Bye Weiss!"

"Farewell Nora."

The call ended without a sound. Salem lowered the scroll with a sigh. She felt regret at dragging them into this. It was a necessary evil, no doubt there. If only she didn't need to bring her friends into it.

A knock on the door to her throne room startled her; she quickly leapt to her throne and sat down, crossing one leg over the other and planting an expression of boredom on her face, one befitting of the Queen of Grimm.

"Enter." She commanded. The door opened as a woman entered, striding forward with a mask of supreme confidence on her face. Behind her followed two figures, a man with silver hair as well as a woman with green hair, both looked markedly less certain than the first. Salem wondered why her subordinate had brought these two along, not that it truly mattered.

"Your majesty." The first woman said with a curtsy of her red and gold dress. The woman's subordinates kneeled behind her, glancing at each other with uncertainty.

"Cinder." Salem responded neutrally. _Maintain control, no expressions, you are darkness incarnate; nothing can harm you, NOTHING._ Salem reminded herself. Before her was a sadistic terrorist, a woman who took pleasure in spreading fear and suffering.

"You called me from Mistral, what exactly do you wish for me to do?" Cinder asked.

Straight to the point, very well. Salem thought.

"Two of my agents have found traces of Qrow Branwen, meet up with them." Salem ordered.

"Very well." Cinder replied.

"That is all." Salem said. Cinder waited a moment. Salem cursed internally.

"Something troubles you?" She prodded. Better to deal with it here than resolving the mess in the field.

"I was wondering about Ozpin-"

"He still has his uses to me."

"Surely his death would be beneficial as well." Cinder pushed.

"He will die when I wish it." Salem said, a tone of finality in her voice. "Is that all?"

"One last thing. Who shall be in command when I meet with your other agents?"

"They will be."

"That's not fair!" The green haired girl exclaimed.

"Emerald!" Cinder hissed, panic spreading over her face.

Salem smiled at the small victory. "How so?" She asked. Salem relished the look of shock on Cinder's face while girl stood unsteadily and quickly bowed.

"I have been with Cinder since she picked me up on the street, she saved me. She is a natural leader and she sabotaged Beacon. She's the Fall Maiden for crying out loud!" Cinders expression changed, a small confident grin appearing.

"And either of my agents would laugh at such paltry power." Salem said.

Emerald paused, while both Cinder and Mercury hid their shock that anyone's underlings could be so powerful.

Salem decided to try another tactic, one she had seen Lord-General Ozpin use.

"You were at the Fall of Beacon, yes?"

Emerald nodded "What does that-"

"What did you think of it?"

Emerald paused. "I did not think about it." She replied.

"Cinder and Silver-haired boy, leave us". Salem commanded glaring at Cinder. Cinder opened her mouth to protest "Now." Salem said, her blood-red eyes staring down Cinder's. Cinder nodded and stood. The boy followed suit.

"She's screwed." The boy whispered.

"Silence Mercury!" Cinder hissed, closing the large door behind her as she left.

Salem grinned, amused that the two presumably thought they could not be overheard.

Emerald and Salem were now entirely alone.

Her gaze turned to a visibly frightened Emerald. Salem stood and slowly approached the girl.

"Now what did you truly think of The Fall?" She asked, only a few paces away from the girl.

Emerald opened her mouth, only to be silenced as Salem raised her hand. "I desire complete honesty. No rationalizations. Have I made myself clear?"

"It felt wrong." Emerald said, tensing up.

Salem grinned, part of her pleased with the answer.

To Emerald, the grin looked feral. She could only imagine her fate at having made such a statement.

"Good." Salem said, enjoying the look of confusion on Emerald's face.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked. Breaking eye contact as soon as she could.

Salem chuckled, "Your answer is more important than you realize. I have many, many plans." She said planting a hand on Emeralds shoulder. Her other cupped the girl's chin and raised it, she leaned in, so close that their noses almost touched.

Red eyes met Golden ones. "I have a mission for you… one I entrust only to you. Will you accept?"

* * *

Ren was in the middle of his second cup of coffee in the Mistral International Airport, when he saw Qrow Branwen on the TV. He almost did a spit take while Nora bounded her chest with her fist, the surprise of seeing Qrow's face causing her to swallow the six pancakes in her mouth.

Qrow Branwen, spymaster and espionage extraordinaire, a man they had been hunting for what seemed like forever, had been caught on a TV interview.

"What are your thoughts on the new Vale Atlas crisis?"

"Listen lady, Buy me a few drinks and we can talk about something else, but politics ain't my thing." Qrow said, trying to block the camera lens. He was standing in front of the Mistralian council building; did he really think someone wouldn't interview a hunter standing there?

Ren looked down at the left hand corner of the TV. He smiled as he saw LIVE in bright, boxy letters.

"Nora we're going there."

"Let's get going then!" She exclaimed cheerfully. She did not so much stand as leap off her chair, spilling drinks and food as she went.

"Oops." She said with an apologetic smile as Ren shook his head. She turned to leave.

"Nora." Ren reminded her.

"Oh right!" She exclaimed, grabbing a paper napkin. Ren handed her a marker. Hastily writing something on the napkin she slammed it down on the table, an audible cracking noise echoing throughout the diner.

"Lets go!" She exclaimed.

The two rushed out of the diner. Nora in high anticipation of an exciting fight; Ren was excited to face Qrow, but also preferred to avoid the wrath of their waiter.

Sometimes things just work out.

The waiter returned minutes later with a milkshake; she frowned as she picked up the small piece of paper that Nora had left behind. Bright pink letters and a smiley face stared back at the now disgruntled waiter. She cursed with a huff.

"IOU my ass." She muttered marching off.

* * *

A/N: So things are starting to gear up, we have some fight scenes coming up! Sorry about the delay in posting, this weekend (I'm in Japan so it is now over) was insanely busy, so things got delayed. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

Please follow, favorite and review!


	18. Cold

Cold belongs to Jeff Williams and Rooster teeth Productions.

Beta: Hirshja

[This is an update of a previously un-betaed chapter]

* * *

"We will now be departing from Vale International Airdocks. We will be arriving in Atlas in approximately 19 hours and 45 minutes. Please enjoy your time aboard Vale Airlines." A faux-friendly slightly robotic feminine voice said over the Airship's loudspeaker.

Yang, Ruby and Yin all sat on a padded couch. The airship was one of the largest available, and plastered with SDC advertisements, a testament to the size and power of the company they may very well soon be going up against.

"Like the new duds Ruby?" Yang asked mildly, still feeling awkward about calling this girl by her sister's name, even if they did look almost exactly alike.

Ruby was wearing dark colored jeans with a thin black sleeveless shirt. She wore combat boots with a red leather jacket, complimented with a red belt to complete the outfit. She still wore her hair in a short ponytail, giving the goddess a no-nonsense look.

Her weapons were hidden inside an old bag, emblazoned with Ruby's Rose insignia. Yang still marveled at the ease at which the goddess lifted a bag the weighed at least twice as much as Crescent Rose, she wondered if her sister could accomplish a similar feat. Maybe she could now…

A wave of guilt crashed into Yang. Coupled with memories of the pain she felt upon learning of Blake's disappearance, it was no easy task to reign in her emotions.

"They look nice on you." Yin complimented.

Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks… I like them too." She said uncomfortably.

Ruby felt uncomfortable in such… unprotected clothing. She was used to wearing armor, not standard clothes, and she certainly missed the combat skirt. Ruby stood and stretched.

"We should explore the ship, make sure we know the exits and entrances."

Yin rolled her eyes but grinned anyway. "Aye aye captain." She said.

"I though she was a commander."

"Same thing Yang, No big deal."

Yang stood, shifting to rebalance herself as she did so. Lacking an arm had severely thrown off her balance, she doubted she would be much good in a fight.

Helping to steady Yang as she regained her balance, Yin looked at her. For a moment, Yang thought she saw a flash of pity, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Yin gently but firmly pushed Yang back into her seat.

"You should stay here, keep an eye on our stuff."

"But-"

"Yang." Yin said, her tone full of hidden meaning. Yang grumbled as she crossed her arm and glared out a nearby window.

Ruby observed all of this without a word, her mind drifting. They were going to Atlas; part of the quest to gather the absent members of Remnant's team RWBY and find Raven.

But first they were going to pick up Weiss Schnee. Ruby Rose's partner. Ruby felt something swirl in her gut and a lump form in her throat. It wasn't her Weiss, she reminded herself, it wasn't the girl who had covered her back since she had first joined the guardians, the one who was by her side as she climbed the ranks, gained notoriety, it wasn't the girl who had comforted her when she learned of her fathers death, made sure that she still ate and drank.

Made sure she survived.

It wasn't her Weiss, the person who was dearest to her. That person was dead, and nothing Ruby could do, no matter what, would ever bring her back.

A heavy hand slapping on her shoulder snapped her thoughts back to the present. She looked over her shoulder to see Yin grinning at her, her lilac eyes wide.

"Ready to search the ship sis?" She asked cheerfully.

Ruby nodded absently, her thoughts beginning to race once again. What would Remnant's Weiss be like? What WouldHer fighting style be? Would she BeLike her Weiss, or would SheBe completely different? WouldHerHair be tied AnAn off-center ponytail? Would ItBe braided? WouldSheHaveThatScar AboveHerEye? ThereWereSoManyQuestions…

"Vytal to Ruby, You there?" Ruby spun so quickly that she almost lost her balance. Yin looked at her with concern. They were walking through a viewing platform, the sunset outside casting an orange light inside the ship. There was music coming from the speakers, gentle quiet song, meant to enhance the experience of flying…

Yin leaned against a railing, her arms crossed. "It's about Weiss isn't it?" She asked, her expression serious.

"I'm fine" Ruby replied, looking away from Yin and towards the setting sun. She was fine, just slightly uncomfortable…

"Ruby." Yin said more forcefully.

"It's not our Weiss." Ruby replied this time. "You know those as well as I do."

"You're right, it isn't our ice princess. So why do you look so conflicted about this?"

Ruby grinned slightly at the old nickname. It brought back fond memories, memories of times that were simpler more straightforward. Times where not everything was a grey, a time when Team RWBY was whole. The grin turned into a melancholic frown as Ruby's thoughts returned to the present and she reminded herself that those times were in the past.

"I guess it's just that… well, I have so many questions you know?"

"She'll look exactly like her." Yin said, seemingly reading Ruby's mind

"Not likely, getting a facial scar isn't exactly common." Ruby's face turned to a scowl, as she really didn't like dredging up old memories. She knew this conversation was going to have to happen eventually though, so she forced down her urge to scream and trudged on.

"Neither is getting an arm severed." Yin said pointing to her own artificial arm. "But both Yang and I have one."

Ruby sighed and stared at her feet, her face falling to a more neutral expression. "Do you think she'll act the same?" She wondered, trying to speed the conversation along to what she knew was coming whether she liked it or not. Some reminder of that ultimate, final, horrible day.

The day Weiss was lost to them forever. The day she died.

Yin shrugged. "Maybe, but how am I supposed to know?" She asked smiling "I'm not a god".

"Yes you-" Ruby began before face palming.

"I am a goddess." Yang finished.

"Please Yang, we were having a serious conversation-" Ruby froze as she heard a voice it was disturbingly familiar. She recognized it in an instant.

I never felt that it wise to wish too much….

To dream too big would only lead to being crushed

To hear that on the loudspeaker, to hear that specific song, the song that Weiss had written and sung at the memorial… It ripped at Ruby's heart.

"Then I met you, you weren't afraid of anything. You taught me how to leave the ground, to use my wings. I never thought a hero would ever come my way." Ruby muttered, her eyes watering.

Yin looked on with some mix of understanding and apprehension. Weiss had sung this song at the Guardian Memorial dedicated to Taiyang and the others lost in the incursions, and then, they had played this song again at Weiss's own funeral. Yin moved towards her sister, reaching out to her.

"But more than that, I never thought you would be taken away…" Ruby whispered. She felt those dams she had built up, to contain the grief she hadn't expressed over the years, give way. She buckled to the ground and felt her strength, her control leave her. Tears flowed freely from her face.

Ruby cursed her own weakness; this was the second time in as many days that she had cried in front of her sister. Her sister would think she was a nervous wreck, that she had doubts, regardless of whether she did or not-

Two arms wrapped around Ruby, holding her tightly in a warm and comforting embrace and cutting off Ruby's thought process

"Let it out Ruby. Let it out." Yin whispered kindly, stroking her sister's hair.

"I miss her so much. It's not fair!" Ruby sobbed into her sister's shoulder.

Yin continued to stroke her hair, silently agreeing with her sister. It wasn't fair that their team had gone through so much. It wasn't fair that Weiss was dead. It wasn't fair that Blake was being possessed; it wasn't fair that their father had died; it wasn't fair that Yin's mother had abandoned her. None of it was fair.

"But then again, when has life ever been fair?" Yin thought darkly. As she continued to comfort Ruby, one of the few important people she really had left.

Yang looked up to see Yin and Ruby return. A quick glance at Ruby made Yang's big-sister instincts kick into overdrive. She opened her mouth, but a gentle headshake from Yin caused the words to die in her throat.

"Sooooo… any Grimm get onboard?" Yang asked.

"Everything is secure." Ruby said gruffly before sitting down, crossing her arms and legs and staring intently at the hull.

Yang turned to glance at Yin who with a gentle smile sat down next to Yang. She patted Yang's shoulder, but otherwise said nothing. A pregnant, awkward silence filled the cabin, interrupted only by the occasional sneeze, cough, or yawn. Eventually, Yang pulled out a pair of headphones and plugged the jack into her scroll. She turned the scroll's VNN app on, and immediately went pale when she saw what was on the screen in front of her.

"Yin, Ruby, check this out." She managed to squeak out.

"What is it?" Yin asked leaning over. Yang heard a hitched breath. "Ruby, get over here now."

Ruby turned to and leaned close to the scroll. A quiet curse left her mouth.

"What do they think they're doing?" Yin wondered.

"The battle between huntsmen rages on in front of the Vacuo Councilors building. Grimm attacks have increased twenty fold in the past two hours since fighting began, Vacuo's metropolitan police chief has informed us that all councilors have been evacuated and has created a two-mile safe zone. Police have recently reported that four people are injured and many more missing since the fight began and caused the collapse of the east wing of the councilors building. The identity of the aggressors are currently unknown but the singular huntsmen holding them off is reportedly-"

"Uncle Qrow." Yang whispered. Yin gripped her shoulder.

"He'll be fine Yang. Whoever is after him doesn't stand a chance." Yin said, giving Yang's shoulder a gentle squeeze. Yin glared at Ruby, daring her to say otherwise. Ruby however remained silent, a nervous jaw tic being the only indicator that anything was amiss.

* * *

Ren was angry. He was incredibly angry. This Qrow Branwen was a slippery little fox/weasel/crow/whatever.

But he was also annoyed at Nora, who had recklessly bashed a critical support beam extremely early in the fight. The entire east wing of the building had collapsed because of her lack of restraint; Ren just hoped that the five minutes before then had been enough to evacuate the area.

Launching grenades into a building should've made any reasonable person run for the hills anyway.

He ducked beneath the scythe blade while firing off a storm of bullets. Qrow was forced to bend to the side, but deft footwork and his mecha-shifting weapon forced Ren to leap back.

Ren had honestly thought that this fight wouldn't last more than a few minutes, but for some reason, he felt incredibly weak. Weak compared to how he usually felt in Vytal at least. He had never had the potential of Jaune or the talent of Pyrrha, but neither he nor Nora were slouches in combat. Either something was messing with his powers (he had crushed armies of Grimm with less effort) or Qrow Branwen was considerably stronger than Salem had led him to believe.

A boot to the gut shoved him through a third floor window.

"Ren!" Nora exclaimed, losing concentration as she swung her hammer down, inadvertently forcing Qrow to dodge and creating separation. Qrow leapt to the side to avoid the hammer, leaping out a different window.

As Ren felt himself accelerate towards the quickly approaching ground, two arms wrapped around him and he knew Nora had grabbed him, seconds before it was too late.

Nora enjoyed being dramatic that way.

"What about Qrow?" He asked quickly. Nora pointed upwards; a flock of crows now flew above them.

"Damn" Ren cursed, knowing that chasing those crows was a fool's errand. It was, after all, Qrow's semblance. It was slightly different from the semblance of the Qrow they knew, and at first had generally seemed less useful. Seems they had underestimated it's usefulness altogether.

"Unless you want to chase animals that could just be a distraction, I think we lost him for now. Odd how the crows showed up at such a convenient time."

Ren quickly stood. "Thanks Nora. Let's see if he left anything."

Nora nodded quietly as they both leaped up the building and vaulted through the broken window.

It did not take long for Ren to find the silver flask. He picked it up and examined it. It was clearly different from the Flask Qrow had in Vytal; different from the one he had placed on Taiyang's grave. But that was of little importance right now.

"Nora, phone Salem, We have a new lead." He said, a slight grin growing on his face. Nora nodded, and after sending Salem a short text, she looked over at Ren.

"We chasing after him now?" She asked.

"No, we'll wait a few days, see if he links up with that Glynda Goodwitch person and their cadre."

'What should we do in the meantime?" Nora asked, a salacious grin on her face.

Ren turned back to her. "I have a few ideas..." He said.

"My kind of ideas?"

"That depends on if your idea includes Ice Cream." Ren offered.

"YAY!" She cheered, leaping out the window again. Ren smiled silently thanking Odin for keeping Nora so pure, before leaping out after her.

* * *

-OMAKE- (Maybe cannon for the story?)

"Best. DATE. EVER!" Nora screamed as she slumped back in her chair patting her stomach.

Ren smiled. Looking at Nora through the empty parfait glass.

"In all fairness, you are quite easy to please."

"Waitress-lady! I'll have another!" Nora said raising the now empty glass high.

"Nora…" Ren cautioned knowing what was coming.

"And I want it now!" She proclaimed loudly, slamming the glass into the ground. Ren groaned. Nora could be so predictable. At times, that was very helpful, but right now, he would have to leave an extra large tip.

"Nora."

"Yeah Ren?"

"This being the third glass you broke could you ease up?"

"Why? Weiss gave us tons of money."

"Well, you're making a mess and I still don't know the tipping culture here."

"Just double the bill! That'll certainly be enough!" Nora said as a mildly angry waitress placed another extra-large parfait in front of them.

Ren nodded, yielding to Nora's logic. How bad could a six hundred-lien bill be? He hoped Salem was as understanding.

Back in her lair, Salem awoke with a start.

"My wasting-money-senses are tingling!" She hissed.


	19. Chapter 19

Qrow Branwen stumbled out of the portal that his dear sister had yanked him into, before toppling over and retching, gasping for air. Raven Branwen stepped out next to him.

After getting his bearings, Qrow glanced around wondering where they were. Raven had teleported them into the middle of an abandoned street. It was dark, extremely dry and all the buildings were in ruins.

"Mountain Glenn. Your welcome for saving you."

"What the hell was that for Raven? I had those two bastards!" Qrow gasped.

She pulled off her mask, her red eyes glaring at him. She frowned.

"In case you didn't notice, you were losing pretty badly."

"Yeah, right. Just cause I was on the defensive-"

"Shut up Qrow." Raven said in a voice that permitted no dissent. Qrow looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

Raven's eyes were narrowed and a scowl was on her lips. Her hands were balled into fists. She was practically trembling.

Usually, Qrow would imagine that it was out of concern for him. If this were Raven's daughter that is what he would be thinking. But it wasn't; this was Raven Branwen, a cold-hearted huntress who would just as quickly kill someone as greet them.

He stood his face turning serious. "Raven, Those were hunters in training they were that Arc kid's teammates, even with two of them-"

"You could take them? You could fight them?" Raven asked coldly.

"Of course I-"

Raven's fist connected with his face. He tumbled backwards.

"You're exhausted. You couldn't even block a basic punch. Did you even check your aura reserves? Or are you too drunk to even do that?"

"Well of course I looked at…" Qrow's voice faded off as he fished through his pocket for his scroll, pulling it out he rolled his eyes, the ferocity of the battle had cracked the screen, spider cracks caused the entire screen to shine with a blue hue.

But that wasn't what caught his attention. To him, a busted scroll was pretty standard, he ended up replacing the last one after he got into a bar fight, the warning flashing at the top of his screen was what disturbed him.

"Well, 12% isn't that bad." He muttered. It was a nearly two-hour fight after all, and they had dropped a building on him.

"Are you too drunk to even bother checking other auras in the area?" Raven said, a slight hint of annoyance reaching into her normally calm voice.

"Sorry that's your talent, not mine sis."

"Their auras didn't drop at all other than when they actually took a hit. Neither of them used their semblances, only an idiot couldn't tell they were holding back."

Qrow didn't reply. They were holding back? If that was true why the hell were they still in school? They could probably wipe the floor with anyone!

He was snapped by his thoughts as he heard the clack of heels. He looked up grinning.

"Crack a joke and I will make you regret your sister having saved you." Glynda Goodwitch said as she came into view.

"Nice change of setting. Getting bored of the optimistic clockwork tower and Dick chair?" Qrow asked; only to yelp as his sister kicked him in the shin.

"Those two were not Mr. Arc's teammates, rather they were something like an alternate reality's version of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Glynda said, ignoring Qrow's question.

"Whoa, whoa, wait up. We're fighting an alternate reality version of those brats? What is this a comic book?"

"Perhaps, or maybe we're in one of those, fan-fictions you used to write" Glynda replied turning and walking away.

"I'll have you know that was-"

"Smut." Raven said.

"Art!" Qrow argued hotly.

"Still smut." Raven replied

"Just follow me you two." Glynda said exasperated at the siblings' argument.

"I gave inspiration to another writer! They created an entire series!"

"Yes, a series of actual erotic literature. Unlike yours, it was good."

"You actually read that?" Glynda asked, glancing back at Raven in surprise.

"I was bored." Raven said shamelessly.

"I didn't take you as a fan of ninja's or Romance."

"I use an Odachi, It comes with the territory."

"Ninja's or Love?"

"Both".

"Can we get back to the fact that my fanfiction was both tasteful and artistic?" Qrow asked.

"No." the two women replied in unison.

The rest of the journey through the ruins of the underground city in Mountain Glenn went quietly. There were no Grimm in sight, and there was no sign of activity. The eerie silence started to bother Qrow. He could be quiet, but usually he had his flask full of whatever hard liquor was nearby. Reaching for his flask, he cursed when he found it missing. He must have lost it in the fight.

"Damn, that was a gift from Tai too."

"Lost that damn flask? Good riddance." Raven muttered.

Qrow grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. She made no move to resist, even though all three of them knew she could easily have snapped his arm in half.

"What the hell did you just say?" He demanded.

"You finally lost that damn flask. It was useless anyway." She replied calmly. Glynda had stopped and turned to watch the interaction.

She knew where this was headed, and although she didn't like it, and would certainly rather it happened somewhere else, she accepted that it was better this happened now rather than in the middle of a fight.

"That was a gift from Tai! It's important to me!"

"It's a sheet of metal that holds liquid. Usually an intoxicating substance that makes you even more stupid than usual."

"It has sentimental value! And I'm far cooler drunk than I am sober!"

"First, if you think being drunk helps in that department, than you're just even more stupid than when we were kids. Second, it was a gift from Taiyang. Who cares?"

"I DO!" Qrow shouted. He wanted to beat the crap out of his sister for what she did to Taiyang. "I know you don't care about Taiyang, hell, you don't care about connections in general. You think they make you weak, fine. But don't you dare talk about them like that to my face." He said pointing at his sister.

Raven looked down at his outstretched index finger, and then looked back at him. Her expression gave nothing away. In fact, she looked mildly bored. "They don't benefit me. Why should I care what you think about them?"

"Because I'm your brother!"

"Blood means nothing to me. When you finally choose to do something of benefit, rather than just be Ozpin's lackey, I'll listen to you.

"So you finally come out and say it. You abandoned Tai, you abandoned Yang, and you abandoned me just because you didn't see a benefit to yourself."

A pregnant silence lay over the group for what seemed like hours. Glynda watched as Raven sighed.

"This conversation is over, we should keep moving." Raven said suddenly, turning and walking the same direction they had, until recently, been heading in.

Glynda glanced at Qrow with a look of concern on her face. She inhaled slightly as she decided it was time to intervene, no more secrets, no more lies, and damn Ozpin's compartmentalization.

"Qrow, You know-"

Qrow raised a hand, as if waving off her words. "Don't take her side in this Glynda, just… just don't." Lowering his hand and shaking his head, he followed Raven "Let's just get going".

Glynda rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. She knew there were actual reasons for why Raven did all that she did, and for once, she felt deep sympathy for Qrow. He thought his sister didn't care. She couldn't imagine what having your twin not care felt like; she made a promise to tell Qrow everything. No more secrets, no more lies. They were family, it wasn't right what had happened to them and it wasn't fair. Raven had been put in an impossible situation, and had tried to make the best out of a host of bad choices.

At first, everyone thought Raven was dealing with her choice, making the best of what had happened. When She and Taiyang got together, Glynda had let her hopes get ahead of her, and when she heard Raven was pregnant, she had nearly jumped for joy (figuratively of course, it wouldn't do for a deputy headmistress to actually jump for joy, especially not in a skirt). Raven could finally settle down, have a somewhat normal life. Those hopes came crashing down eight months later when Raven had approached her, revealed her intentions and made her promise to never tell anyone. Glynda did everything she could to change her mind, but Raven was too stubborn.

Glynda shook her head. These thoughts were for a later time, after this mess was over. For now, she needed to catch up with the other two, especially before-

"Grimm!" Came a shout. "How did a Goliath get down here?!"

Glynda rolled her eyes and rushed off towards the voice. She was going to say before they take a wrong turn into the former White Fang Headquarters, which was still flooded with Grimm from the Breach.

For someone who was, by now supposed to be sober, he still had the luck of a drunken idiot. At least Raven was with him.

"Raven! How are you so bad with directions?" She heard the voice shout.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yang, Yin and Ruby walked out of the airport in Atlas. Security had gone over easily, it seemed that they worked under the assumption that three women with absurd weapons were huntress', which certainly helped.

Now they were standing outside the airport. It was noisy; cars drove at breakneck speeds down a nearby highway, and the hordes of people kept pushing the trio closer to the road nearby.

"Okay so what do we do now?" Yin asked, having no idea how to get from here to the Schnee residence.

"Easy!" Yang shouted back. "We grab a taxi."

Three taxi drivers later the group still stood outside the Airport.

"We just wanted to go to the Schnee residence! There was no need for them to laugh in our faces!" Yin said angrily, her eyes flashing red. Ruby patted her on the shoulder.

"Please don't go on a violent rampage sis" Ruby thought, dreading the idea of hiding from whatever government agency worked to arrest Hunters.

Another taxi drove up. Yang yanked the back door open and quickly sat inside. Ruby and Yin clambered in after her. Yin closed the door after her.

"Schnee residence." Yin said politely.

"You joking? No way in hell, get the-"

Yin pointed a shotgun gauntlet at the man. "Now listen here buster. Three taxis have kicked us out. We're a little low on patience, and right now we just want to meet with Weiss Schnee, if you don't my sis has a sniper-scythe, and I have gauntlets that just so happen to fire buckshot."

"You're Yang Xiao-long?" The driver stammered. Yin realized he wasn't looking at her but at Yang. Yang looked back.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Oh dear god! Don't shoot me! I'll do anything!"

"What did you do Yang?" Ruby asked, mildly awed by the extreme reaction.

"Don't you know you're working with a psycho? She shot a guy in the leg after he was down!" Ruby and Yin both turned to look at Yang.

Yang raised her hands, "He attacked me guys."

"He was sitting on the ground!"

"That's not what I saw, and it's a lot more complicated of a situation than you think!" Yang quickly responded.

Yin rolled her eyes. "Just get us to the Schnee residence." She asked. The driver slammed on the gas and drove as quickly as he could. Thirty minutes of breakneck speed driving later, the taxi dropped them off at the front gates, and drove off.

"Hey you forgot to take our money!" Ruby shouted. The taxi did not stop, and with a sigh, Ruby gave up, muttering about reckless driving. She turned to look at the Schnee Manor, a massive complex that looked more like a palace than a house. Built of pale marble, even at a distance the manor towered above them. The entire estate was walled in with the only entrance and exit being the cold steel gates in front of them.

Yin turned to Yang "Well that was a thing".

Yang rolled her eyes. "So shall we bust in?" She asked.

"How about we knock first." Ruby said, walking up to the small intercom system in front of the gates. Pressing the button quickly. A buzz sounded before a voice crackled to life.

"Do you have an appointment?" The voice sounded bored, as if this happened every day. The contempt was clear from the tone of voice. Ruby calmed her annoyance, she could blast this house to smithereens without breaking sweat, but that, her inner voice argued, would not only be wrong, but also horribly inefficient and unprofessional.

"No, but we are here with Yang Xiao-Long, sister of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee's part-"

"Without an appointment you are not permitted inside the residence."

"Then can we make an appointment?" Yin asked pushing her protesting sister to the side.

"File the appropriate paperwork, background checks, and signed and notarized letters of introduction at SDC headquarters." The voice replied.

"And how long will that take?"

"Approximately three months for an appointment date. And another-"

Yin fired her gauntlet at the intercom, which immediately exploded, scattering bits of steel all over, a glowing fire now blazed where the intercom lay on the ground.

Ruby shook her head, more in defeat than annoyance at this point. It reminded Yin a little of Ren.

"Well, I don't have that kind of time." Yin said, flexing her fingers. She fired at the gates, bursting them open, an alarm started to ring throughout the estate.

"Ready for a fight?" Yin asked.

The sound of sniper fire from behind her, and a massive explosion in front of her told her all she needed to know.

"Time to save the princess!" Yin cheered.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to hirshja for working hard to get this betaed. He did a lot of work on the conversations in this chapter and chapter 18!

Please tell me what you think of where this is going! Get ready for some fights as one is coming up!


	20. Chapter 20

I do not own RWBY

Beta: Hirshja

* * *

"Yang! This is all your fault!" Ruby screeched.

"What the hell did I do?" Yang shouted. Raising her arm in the air before instinctively ducking as yet another rocket streaked overhead.

"Not you! The other Yang!" Ruby shouted from behind a once luxurious sedan.

"You mean Yin." Yang supplied.

"Yes! Yin, Yang, whatever! My sister!" Ruby shouted, firing several dust rounds at the automated defenses, before ducking back down. The sound of guns firing from the Atlesian knights forced Ruby to scramble from behind her cover, leaping behind a statue in the Schnee gardens, or at least what was left of them. As the Atlesian knights fired on her new cover, Yin ran up behind them and with a few swift punches, left the once proud group of knights as little more than scrap.

"Yin! This is all your fault!" Ruby shouted.

Yin grinned widely, hands on her hips. "Even my sister is using the nickname! Today rocks!" She shouted.

"Knights at seven o'clock!" Yang shouted.

"Seven o'clock? Then we have tons of- Whoa!" Yin scrambled for the now burning remains of a bullet-ridden bullhead.

"This is all your fault!" Ruby shouted for the umpteenth time.

"Hey, I didn't ask them to fire on us!"

"What did you think they would do when you flipped a car!" Ruby demanded, pointing to the wreckage of a car down the road that led to the gates.

"Maybe not wreck their boss's garden!"

20 minutes earlier

The gardens were a beautiful, artfully created masterpiece. A long pale white gravel road, bordered by a variety of pine trees, led to a roundabout, which was in turn encircled by a variety of statues. In the center was a large, gilded marble fountain topped with an angel holding the Schnee crest. The fountain was surrounded by a variety of flowers, the bright colors of nature bursting forth from the ground.

At least until Yin and Yang got into a fistfight with the Schnee security.

Almost as soon as they entered the Estate, a small contingent of guards confronted them. To say the guards were overmatched was an understatement, most didn't even have their auras unlocked, and they had been shocked enough when the gate had been blown up that they took a few minutes to get organized an gain their greatest advantage.

This continued to be the case until Yin flipped a security car full of actual guards and left it on the side of the road. Presumably, the guards had survived and called for backup, resulting in an onslaught of Atlesian knights, and that got them stuck in a gunfight.

Ruby was more than a little annoyed now; they weren't even at the main garden yet! Let alone anywhere close to entering the building!

"Back to the overturned car!" Ruby shouted, vanishing in a burst of petals. She halted by the car and transformed Crescent Rose into its sniper form. Moments later the deep roar of sniper rounds cut through the shriek of whatever rounds the Schnee security guards and Atlesian Knights were using and the burst of plasma coming from the cannons carried by the newly arriving Atlesian paladins.

Yin and Yang scrambled back to the car, ducking down once they were behind it, Yin glanced inside, checking to see if there were any security guards remaining inside the overturned vehicle. A feeling of relief washed over her as she saw that the car was empty,

"We can't stay here!" Yang shouted, pointing towards the guards.

"True". Ruby said, ducking below and swapping her weapon into a scythe.

"Ruby, where's your weapons bag?" Yang asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"You have another weapon in there right?" Yang asked. Yin snapped her fingers, pointing at Ruby with a grin on her face.

"Yeah! If you use Crimson Eclipse you could wipe all these guys out right now!"

"Crimson eclipse?" Yang asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Long story." Ruby said to Yang before turning to Yin. "And no, I am not using, the artillery mode on Eclipse, as awesome as it is, using a high intensity thermal dust bomb would probably level the building."

"So you're a weapon nut too, glad to know not everything changes." Yang said, the grin on her face vanishing in the face of an ice-cold glare from Ruby.

"Follow me in twenty seconds." She ordered leaping over the car with a shout.

"She looked like the ice queen there."

"Tell me about it, her nickname is the Ice commander."

"That just sounds like a bad nickname."

"Do want to go first or me?" Yin asked, quickly changing the subject. Yang looked at her before pointing at the stump of her arm.

Yin nodded and muttered something under her breathe before charging out into the rapidly diminishing fire.

Yang hesitated for a moment, before shrugging and leaping out after her.

Twenty minutes, two bullheads and several dozen guards (both real and synthetic) later, the once beautiful garden was destroyed, two parked sedans were burning and a third was being turned into a metal honeycomb.

"You think we'll get the bill for this?" Yang asked.

Ruby rolled her eyes "I think the Schnee's have enough money to cover the cost of a new garden!"

"Can they cover a new guard corps?" Yin asked.

"They have an entire corps?" Yang asked.

"Probably not, but it sounds better."

Ruby glared at her sister. "Yang, no." She snapped.

"What did I do?" Yang asked

"Not you, Yang!" Ruby shouted, moving her arms in an odd mix of throwing her arms up in frustration, and pointing at Yin.

"She is Yang." Yin said, while Yang struggled not to laugh.

"So are you!" Ruby snapped, her face turning red.

"You are acting like Weiss." Yang said laughing.

Nobody else did.

"Yang… maybe we should talk about that later." Yin said weakly, giving her a concerned glance. Yang looked at Ruby, the once angry, but loud leader had fallen silent, her eyes unfocused, as if Yang had just made Ruby remember something unpleasant.

Then the gunfire stopped.

"Huh? What the hell just happened?" Yang asked. Yin peaked over the top of their cover. A grimace appeared on her face.

"Rubes? Is it just me or is Winter Schnee walking towards us?"

Ruby, snapping out of her trance raised her head, peaking over the top of the ruined bullhead.

"Shit." She swore.

Coming towards them, sword drawn, was Winter Schnee.

* * *

Ren and Nora sat on the bullhead, piloted by a member of the White Fang. Nora glanced out the window, smiling with the occasional squeal or exclamation breaking the thick silence of the bullhead.

When Salem had told Ren that an ally was picking them up, he hadn't exactly expected the White Fang. He had overheard that they were terrorists, but otherwise had not paid much attention to the news about them; so when a bullhead with their symbol landed in front of the Councilors building, Ren made a silent apology to his Remnant self, before quickly clambering in.

The bullhead itself was as spacious as one could expect. It had been mostly gutted, with only a few seats remaining, but an overhead ceiling had been removed with weapon cages replacing it.

"So you are our new ally." A masked man, dressed entirely in black and red said. Ren turned, mildly surprised that there was someone waiting for them.

It took him a moment to recognize the man, and even as he forced himself to sit, every muscle in his body seemed to tighten. Nora, somehow, seemed the more level one.

"Adam." She said quietly, a hint of hatred seeping into her voice. She sat next to Ren, and promptly began to ignore Adam altogether. Ren imagined it was her attempt at avoiding a confrontation, especially since Salem apparently seemed to trust, or at the very least respect this man.

At least in the confines of his duty to her.

Now, Ren sat, glaring at the other passenger. His skin crawled staring at this man. The Vytal version and this one were mirror images. Thick, styled red hair, the constant scowl, even the horns sticking from his head were the same. But what disturbed Ren the most was the fact that the very aura this man exuded was the same as the one that Nora had killed.

The Vytal Adam Taurus had tried to launch a coup, killing countless innocents and several commanders, including the Head-Commander of the time, the uncertainty and fear had drawn the Grimm, by the time the Nora had killed him (by dropping a literal building on him no less), a flood of Grimm had already broken through Vytal's outer defenses.

The resulting invasion had been fended off, but at the expense of many lives. Taiyang Xiao-Long had been killed, Qrow Branwen had been emotionally broken and Ruby's family only remained connected by thin threads.

Few Guardians could have had as much control as Ren and Nora in such a situation. Even Summer Rose, known for her ability to separate emotions from the current mission when necessary, probably would have cleaved his head from his shoulders without a second thought.

Hell, every instinct was telling Ren to do it right now.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"Vale. You are meeting up with Cinder and her lackeys."

"Not quite fond of them?" Ren asked in his thoughts. Vytal's Cinder was one of the friendliest people he knew and while she held no formal position, she was a close advisor to Ozpin. She had been extraordinarily helpful on more than one occasion, he wondered if this Cinder would be similar.

"I know that. Why Vale?"

"Since Qrow slipped through your fingers, your leader contacted me directly. She made it clear picking you up was… in my best interests."

Ren raised an eyebrow; evidently, Salem didn't respect or trust this man.

"Well, thank you for doing so." Ren said politely.

Adam snorted in reply.

Ren leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Today had been stressful, and people, innocent people may have been hurt. He had many questions, but with any luck, he would soon get answers.

"Touchdown in thirty minutes." A voice said over the intercom. Ren smiled; soon he would be off this ship, and away from Adam.

He felt Nora's hand on his shoulder; he felt his body relax slightly.

"Do you think Jaune and Pyrrha are OK?" She whispered.

"I'm sure they are. They can handle themselves." He said gently.

Thirty minutes later, Ren and Nora walked off the bullhead without a word. Nora turned back to watch as Adam gave a brief nod and a grunt before the bullhead once again lifted itself into the clouds, flying off to it's destination, wherever that was.

Ren and Nora found themselves in a grassy field, Nora's scroll buzzed, she quickly glanced at it, a marker showing that Salem had sent them a meeting location. She looked at Ren who gave her a shrug. Nora smiled. She turned and wandered into the nearby forest, the directions said they had to travel in a straight line for nearly fifteen minutes. Not that long really, but Nora was one to quickly grow bored.

"Ready to meet up with some old buddies?" Nora asked, scrambling to think of something to break the silence.

"I doubt this is the same Cinder."

"No, but I'm willing to bet she acts like her." Nora replied cheerful, stretching her arms.

Ren nodded. "They probably will act similarly." The partners fell back into silence for the rest of their walk, unsure of what to speak of. It was generally Pyrrha or Jaune who brought up the topics of conversation, Nora would then leap to other subjects based of random words from the conversations, while Ren would sit back and enjoy the unfolding chaos, while keeping it somewhat manageable. But Jaune and Pyrrha weren't there, and it seemed that even the ever-energetic Nora had started to have trouble striking a conversation.

When they arrived at what seemed to be a clearing, Ren looked up and narrowed his eyes. Before them, standing in the center of the clearing, were two figures. One wore a red and gold dress, and combined with raven hair, she was clearly Cinder. The other, a tall man with silver hair, was unknown to them. Ren grit his teeth, every day brought new questions about what Remnant was. Salem had said it was like a warped mirror, but that wasn't exactly a helpful explanation.

"Hey it's Cinder!" Nora said, cheerfully jogging up.

Cinder looked up, a picture of surprise and distaste playing on her face. She glanced at the Silver haired boy. Less than a moment passed before he nodded.

"Nora!" Ren exclaimed, beginning his rush to his partner's side. He saw the boy tense.

Nora seemed to take it in stride. The boy leapt into the air, poised to strike he launched a kick at Nora. Nora, without pausing grabbed the offending leg in her off hand and held strong. She flung the boy off to the side, the boy hurtling through the air before slamming into trees.

She stopped a few feet from a stunned Cinder. Ren soon followed behind her.

"Bad Cinder! You don't attack your friends!" Nora exclaimed, a grin on her face.

Cinder was dumbfounded, an expression Ren noted, he had never seen on Cinder's face before.

He had little time to enjoy it before the silver haired boy rushed back to attack again.

Coming at Nora with another high kick his face scrunched up in rage he bellowed as gunshots burst from his feet. Nora dodged nimbly, grasping hold of the boys face and slamming it into the ground. She then quickly sat on the boy, a short wheeze being the only response.

The boy struggled slightly before giving up.

"Nora, you might be suffocating him." Ren pointed out.

"Well, he attacked me, he obviously needs to be taught a lesson."

"How is he going to learn a lesson if he dies of asphyxiation?" Ren asked.

Nora stood dusting her skirt off. "Well, I obviously was just going to make sure he was unconscious, not kill the poor guy!"

"I see." Ren said, believing his friend's intentions but not fully convinced that that would've been the final result of her actions.

"You… are not Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie of Beacon's team JNPR, are you?"

Cinder said quietly, edging away from the two.

"Nope, but we are Ren and Nora!" Nora said cheerfully. She then pointed at the unconscious boy. "Who is he by the way?"

* * *

Please review if you have the time, it helps me improve the story and make sure that I am keeping it interesting. Not to mention it makes my day!


	21. Chapter 21

Beta: Hirshja

I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth Productions.

* * *

Winter Schnee looked across the ruins of the garden. She had seen the attackers on the cameras, as they had made no attempt to disguise themselves. It was Team RWBY, or at least half of it. Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-long were there, along with a woman who, while slightly taller than Yang, appeared to be almost a spitting image of her. Winter assumed it was either an exceptional illusion or, much more likely, a close relative.

A coil of guilt built in her stomach. She new exactly why they were here, and exactly why they had decided force was the only way to get what they wanted. Winter and Weiss's father would never let her go. He did not want her going to Beacon any more than he had desired Winter to join the military. However, good arguments and a clear underlying warning that he didn't really have a choice had swayed him. When the option before him was to either make both his daughters his enemies, or let them become huntress', ultimately there wasn't any other choice to make.

Now Weiss was very much in his clutches and while Winter believed he had gone too far in keeping her in line, she understood why he had gone to such extremes. Somewhere, in that cold, stone heart he loved his children. Ice water may have flowed through his veins, his heart and soul colder than the snow, but he loved his children, even if he couldn't express it.

Ultimately he wanted what was in their best interest, but he was arrogant enough to think that he always knew what was best. Rebelling against him angered him, not because they did not obey, but because he was frustrated they could not see things from his perspective, the one he believed to be the right one.

Now Winter looked out to see the bobbing heads of Weiss's teammates – no, friends, doing what they felt was right. They had crossed a continent to help their teammate. Now, Winter was going to have to send them away, most likely by force.

She strode down the marble staircase, her saber unsheathed. She kept an eye out for the woman in black. Blake Belladonna was her name if the files she had gotten were correct. She was the stealthy one on the team, and that meant that she would ultimately be extremely dangerous. If fighting the others distracted Winter, Blake would strike her down with ease.

She stopped near the ruins of the fountain, now little more than rubble, water gushed out of a broken side, the fountain itself now shooting water straight into the air. She made a mental note to get a new one. Weiss had loved that fountain as a child; she used to skate on it before she had grown too big. Winter smiled at the fond memories. She turned back to Weiss's teammates and let the smile fade into a scowl.

"Come out." She ordered.

There was no movement and silence pervaded the garden, only punctuated by the crackling of flames from ruined droids and bullheads.

Winter gave a sigh. "I just want to talk, fighting will get us nowhere." She said.

Slowly, a girl with black hair, changing to crimson at the tips stood up. Winter recognized her face right away. Ruby Rose She thought. However, she was struck by how differently the Huntress in-training acted. Even from here, she could see that something was different. Her gait was stern and precise, like that of a soldier. She was dressed in Denim and a leather jacket, her hair tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were colder, sterner. She also kept herself tightly controlled, giving nothing away.

If Winter didn't know better, she would assume she was looking at an Atlas Military Special Operative.

Yin and Yang followed Ruby out from behind what was left of their cover. All remained armed; something that did not surprise Winter. She had seen idiots drop their weapons at promises of safety, only to be shot the moment they were in firing range and defenseless.

It was a favored tactic of the White Fang after all.

She looked over the figures, especially the two blondes. They looked like near exact replicas; though one did look slightly older, and had both arms. Winter instinctively winced, she had heard from Weiss what had happened at Beacon. Losing an arm, being a cripple, it was almost unheard of for a hunter. Most were fit to fight or dead.

Winter gave a slight nod towards Yang, a sign of her own respect. For all Winter had heard about Ruby Rose's loud mouthed, boisterous sister, the girl had the will to keep fighting. To Winter, as a soldier and a huntress, that meant quite a bit.

"You aren't welcome here. Please leave." Winter said politely.

"Not without Weiss." Yang said firmly. Winter looked at the other two for only a moment, she wasn't surprised to see solidarity between the three of them, but the glares from Ruby and the older girl were off-putting. It was as if they were already analyzing how the fight would begin, and how they would end it.

Winter tightened the grip on her sword, A fight might be inevitable, but she would do everything she could to avoid it. Weiss would never forgive her for harming her friends. Neither her partner nor her other teammate. Once again Winter wondered where Blake Belladonna was, but she shoved that down for now, she couldn't do anything about what she didn't know, and only an idiot would reveal their trump card's location.

Winter walked closer. "And what if Weiss doesn't want to leave?" She asked.

"Then we leave, once we hear those words from her mouth, and have a reason to believe it." Yin replied hotly. "But I doubt that is how it will turn out."

Winter doubted it as well. Binding his daughter's aura was a cruel thing to do, even crueler than making her face that golem.

But if I let her go with them she will almost certainly die. Winter had kept tabs on the members of Team RWBY. According to her Intel, Blake was missing, likely chasing the terrorist who crippled her partner. Yang had been at patch, and Ruby was heading towards Mistral. Evidently her Intel was outdated, but it was the best she could do.

Really she was concerned what this team reforming meant. It was clear they would pursue the terrorist, Cinder Fall. She was beyond powerful if the reports were correct, and the only outcome of four Huntresses-in-training fighting such a woman was certain death.

"You're an older sister miss Xiao-Long. Would you willingly allow your sister to run off into danger, into certain death, if you could help it?" Winter said. She turned to Ruby "And you, If you actually cared about Weiss you-"

The fist that slammed into Winter's face was unexpected. She hurtled back, the force of the blow knocking her clean off her feet. She came to a rough stop as she crashed into the marble wall of the Schnee manor.

"Never, ever, claim I do not care about Weiss. If you weren't her sister I would kill you for making that insinuation." Ruby said, slowly walking up to Winter.

Her silver eyes were narrowed and cold. Her mouth twisted into a snarl. To Winter, it looked as if inside that small body was a limitless amount of rage, just waiting to be directed and unleashed.

"Well, there goes our chance at talking this out." Yin said, cocking her gauntlets. A raised arm stopped her.

"Yin, I think this is your sis's fight." Yang said calmly, her face serious.

"Yang, Winter just said Ruby doesn't care about Weiss. Not even Zeus Nikos, Father and coach of Pyrrha, would have dared to do that."

Yang cocked her head. "Why?" Her sister was protective of Weiss, but she probably would have yelled at the very worst, the thought that this goddess version of Ruby struck fear into the father of Pyrrha was a little overwhelming.

Not to mention confusing.

"It's suicide." Yin said gravely.

"Like pulling our hair?" Yang asked.

"That would be infinitely preferable." Yin said quietly.

Yang whistled. "Hot damn, maybe we should intervene."

They watched as Winter rose to her full height.

"You will wish you chose to leave." She said, her face hardening.

Ruby leapt back, firing a round from Crescent Rose. Winter waved her sword, a glyph appearing and shielding her from Ruby's attack. Winter immediately went on the offensive using glyphs to accelerate. She moved close, but Ruby swung her scythe in a wide arc, forcing Winter back momentarily. Ruby pressed her advantage, using her semblance to close in on her opponent. Another swing nearly took Winter's head off, but she ducked and pushed herself forward and under Ruby's guard.

Winter's slash was stopped by Crescent Rose's shaft. Ruby spun and launched a furious kick as Winter lunged forward. The blade met air, but Winter was knocked to the side as Ruby's boot slammed into her face.

Winter was stunned at the force behind the blow, that kick would have knocked the head straight off of anybody without an Aura, and the force felt like it almost snapped her neck.

She backed away, trying to gain some distance. She silently cursed as she heard the bark of gunfire. She dove to the side, curling into a roll before sprinting behind what was left of a ruined statue. She gritted her teeth in frustration. Of course Ruby Rose had a gun! She had just used it on her! In Winter's concern for being struck by another such kick she had completely forgotten that Crimson Rose was also a gun. What was wrong with the classics? "Why does she have to have a gun?" Winter muttered.

"A high-impact sniper rifle to be precise." A voice said behind her. She instinctively dove forward and spun.

Ruby rose stood on top of the broken remains of the statue. Her weapon pointed directly at Winter. The glare in her eyes cold and professional, but her expression was one of deep rage.

"Take back what you said about me and Weiss and give up." Ruby ordered.

Winter hesitated. Grinding her teeth.

"I can't." She said, before drawing her knife. She lunged forward again only to watch as Ruby faded into a flurry of petals.

"Shame." She heard seeing a billowing cape out of the corner of her eye before everything went black.

"Damn, you took her out fast!" Yin said as she watched Ruby drag an unconscious Winter back to the fountain.

"She's a mortal, what did you expect?" Ruby said.

There was an awkward silence as Ruby leaned Winter up against the edge of the fountain.

Yang cleared her throat. "So… Did she apologize?"

"No." Ruby said sharply, a look of annoyance on her face.

Yang walked up to Winter and looked down at her. "You think she was just trying to protect Weiss?"

Ruby nodded, holstering Crescent Rose before walking towards the door.

Yin approached and patted Yang on the back. "That's what big sisters do." She said with a wink. "We're getting her involved in some pretty dangerous stuff after all."

Yang swallowed, nodded, and followed Ruby with new found determination.

Yin looked down at Winter and grinned. "My sister may have forgiven you… but I haven't" She kneeled down and pulled out a marker, chuckling all the while.

"Yin hurry up! There's gonna be more security inside!" Yang shouted. Yin looked up.

"Sorry!" She said, charging forward and stopping just short of slamming into the others.

"What were you doing Yin?" Ruby asked.

"Hey, you called me Yin!"

"Don't take it to heart, now what did you do to Winter?" Ruby said, with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Nothing…" Yin said mischievously. Ruby sighed while Yang grew a Cheshire grin.

"Never mind then. Let's go inside." Ruby said calmly. The three walked into the manor prepared for the worst.

They'd still be surprised at what they found.

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos looked at Jaune Arc again. She shifted uncomfortably. His face was impassive, so different from the Jaune she knew from Vytal.

Ruby had filled her in on the Fall of Beacon, on her death at the hands of Cinder Fall. On what that Pyrrha had done to Jaune moments before shoving him inside a locker. There was no doubt that it had affected him, but she was still upset by the blatant hostility that this Jaune gave her.

Pyrrha, you look great! Ruby said, approaching the two. She held a few items of clothing in her arms. She smiled, but Pyrrha noted there was something off about it; as if there was a weight on her shoulders that she was hiding. She wondered if it had anything to do with her.

"I'm gonna try these on. Jaune, can you pay for Pyrrha's stuff?" She asked. Jaune nodded quickly before turning to Pyrrha he thrust his chin towards the register. "C'mon Nikos, let's get those paid for." He turned and strode towards the register.

Pyrrha stared at his back, she shuddered as a lump grew in her chest. She took a moment to gather herself, one quick inhale, exhale. She closed her eyes and repeated the exercise. Then she opened her eyes and followed Jaune.

Ruby was out a few moments later, dressed in a white blouse, with a black corset, complimented by a black skirt with leggings. She wore a black belt which Crescent Rose hung from. She smiled warmly as she walked up to the two of them.

"You won't believe who I just heard from!" Ruby said.

"Ren and Nora?" Jaune asked, a faint smile on his lips as he cocked an eyebrow.

Ruby nodded. She turned to Pyrrha, "You will love them!"

"Ren and Nora exist on Vytal too, they should actually be on Remnant at the moment."

"Wow." Ruby said after pausing for a moment.

"Never mind that, what did Ren and Nora say?" Jaune asked. Ignoring the look of hurt on Pyrrha's face.

Ruby scowled "We're meeting up with them in the next town over, supposedly they have a friend in tow. Some guy named Fen. He's a traveling Hunter from the sound of it. We'll meet up at the Nevermore Pub."

"Name sounds like it would attract a lot of customers." Jaune replied, snorting slightly.

Ruby ignored the comment and turned back towards Pyrrha. "Once we meet up, we'll see if we can get any information on your Ren and Nora."

"Thank you Ruby." Pyrrha said, hope rising in her heart. If this world's Ruby was anything like the Ruby she knew, she would never stop helping people, and never back down. Someone like that could help her find her friends, she knew it.

Ruby hopped on her heels and slung a backpack over her shoulder. "Let's get going! It's a week to the next town!"

* * *

A/N Thanks to Hirshja for checking out this chapter! We're working on cleaning out some kinks in the outline for the rest of the arc, but fear not! Everything up to chapter 25 has been written (not necessarily edited, but written). There were some glaring plot holes that Hirshja pointed out that would have caused serious problems later on. Hirshja is an awesome Beta, Who has improved this story by leaps and bounds.

In other News... RWBY! The new volume is out and it is amazing, the animation has been improved and we get to see some new people and find out what happens to Cinder! If you haven't had a chance, check it out! If my memory is correct, It is open to non-First Roosterteeth members today. Clearly this story splits from Canon at the end of Volume three, I might take an idea or two as the story develops if I think they fit Ragnarok's narrative, but the new characters will not show up.

* * *

B/N: Hey guys, it's Hirshja. It's been awhile since I've done one of these. It's odd really, I came into this being sure that I didn't want to get too involved since I didn't want a large amount of spoilers, but as we've gone, I've gotten much more involved. Deamon is obviously still the one who writes the chapters, and he deserves all the credit for everything in this story (He might say otherwise, so don't listen to him), but its been pretty awesome helping him smooth over ideas or giving him advice on different parts. You'll start to see my fingerprints a bit more from here on out, since I finally got around to looking at the outline around this point in the story, but the changes will be, if we do it right, unnoticeable.

* * *

 


	22. Chapter 22

I do not own RWBY. RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth productions.

beta: Hirshja

* * *

The Schnee manor was large. Ruby, Yin and Yang were dumbstruck by the splendor they saw. Marble flooring with thick rugs lay beneath them, the marble walls were clean and adorned with a variety of landscapes and portraits. The expenses of the room were subtle, but clear to any that whomever lived inside was beyond any conventional terms and concepts of wealth.

The three of them continued forward, Ruby was armed with Crescent Rose in its scythe form, Yin had her gauntlets loaded and prepared to fire, even Yang was on edge, somewhat hunched and on her toes, prepared to strike at whoever dared attack.

The building opened up in an almost traditional manner. Rugs gave way to marble tile the foyer left behind them, they walked towards the main staircase, carved from marble, the staircase split in two, leading to the two wings of the manor. The stairwell had a red velvet rug but was otherwise unadorned.

The group barely noticed these. Eyes transfixed on a single, solitary figure. He was dressed in a white suit with a crimson tie; His pale hair was neatly combed with a snow-white beard. His eyes were sunken and his face had begun to show the passage of time, faint wrinkles apparent if one looked closely enough. He stood relaxed, his hands in his pockets. He glared at them, his mouth turned into a frown. His eyes were cold, an unforgettable pale blue that made it clear who he was. His very aura oozed contempt and disdain.

"Jacques Mathias Schnee." Ruby snarled.

"Ruby Rose." He responded. His deep voice was crisp but had an edge. "You" he began, descending the stairs slowly, "Have caused considerable damage to my estate, have assaulted my eldest daughter, and now have the gall to plan on kidnapping the other". He took the final step off the staircase and stopped in front of them. A heavy silence descended as he surveyed the three huntresses, his piercing gaze causing both Yang and Yin to shift uncomfortably. "That cannot stand unopposed." He said with a tone of finality.

"Move!" Ruby shouted, leaping back in a burst of rose petals. Yin glanced under her, seeing an unmistakable glyph softly glowing.

"Shit!" She slammed herself into Yang shoving them both out of the way as ice burst forth. The two tumbled to the floor.

"Leave now and vow never to return and I will forget about this intrusion." He offered quietly.

"No!" Ruby shouted, appearing behind him in a burst of Petals. She swung Crescent rose down, only to have it bounce away from its intended victim, a small glyph glowing in midair.

"So be it." He said, a torrent of ice seemingly coming out of nowhere and slamming into Ruby, driving her back and trapping her.

"Ruby!" Yin shouted, her eyes glowing red. She charged forward, bursting through a glyph that appeared to block her way. The surprise on Jacques's face was fleeting as he removed his hands from his pockets. Yin threw a punch, aiming to strike his face; the strike was diverted with the back of a hand. Yin unleashed a flurry of strikes, many of the blows were simply swatted away, those he couldn't block with either his semblance or hands, he simply moved away from.

Finally, Yin threw a wild punch. Jacques grabbed her arm and quickly spun behind Yin, forcing her to her knees.

"For my daughter's teammates you know so little about how powerful our family semblance really is, I would pity Weiss were it not for her own ignorance of such things."

The bark of gunfire forced Jacques to release Yin, who quickly attempted to backhand the man, but he was already out of range. He was pushed further away by continual gunshots from Ruby, who had finally broken free of the ice that had previously pinned her.

Jacques moved back quickly as more strikes came. His eyes constantly shifting between Yin, who was firing buckshot his way, and Ruby, who was clearly intending to, at the very least, cripple the man.

A curse left his mouth as he inevitably realized he was forgetting something.

"Take this you bastard!" Yang shouted as she threw a punch at Jacques from behind. He sidestepped the punch and grabbed her in a tight hold. He quickly flipped her backwards over his head, slamming her headfirst into the marble below and using a Glyph to prevent his own head from meeting the same fate. Yang rolled limply to the side, likely concussed.

"Yang!" Ruby and Yin shouted in concern, redoubling their efforts to attack him.

However, Jacques was no longer responding in kind. He had a clear goal of getting to the unconscious figure of Yang on the ground, forcing Ruby and Yin to move to defend her. Jacques could move around plenty in such a situation. Combined with his inherited semblance, this gave him the advantage over the sisters, whose fighting styles better suited staying on the move and attacking than defending a point.

Eventually Ruby ran out of ammunition, the click of Cresecent Rose's firing mechanism, but without teh bark of gunfire caused Ruby to curse. Jacques, a scowl on his face, quickly closed in on her. As he did so, he raised his hand up, and it became quite clear from the glint of metal that showed from the end of his sleeve, that he was using some type of weapon to channel dust. This became even more obvious when he punched Ruby, sending her, followed by a second torrent of ice, flying into the wall, the torrent of ice smashed into her elicitinga cry of pain, Crescent Rose tumbled to the floor as Ruby struggled against the ice, watching helplessly as Jacques now concentrated all his attacks on her sister.

While Yin would normally be the better fighter of the two, she was forced to remain close to the still unconscious Yang. The occasional glanced at Yang mad eit clear to RUby that her sister was distracted and struggling to come up with an effective strategy. That combined with Jacques avoiding any attacks heavy enough to give her semblance much fuel, shifted the advantage to Schnee.

Jacques weaved and bobbed as he struck her continuously, slowly wearing down her aura. Finally, when he noticed Yin begin to lean away from the light attacks rather than into them. Jacques grinned as the glow around Yin rose then faded the implication clear to him. With an elbow strike to the head, followed by a knee to the stomach, he drew blood. Yin wobbled, struggling to remain on her feet. Schnee struck downward, striking the back of Yin's head. She dropped to the ground like a boneless doll.

Utter silence, with the exception of some light panting from Schnee, pervaded the room.

Schnee straightened his jacket, and wiped Yin's blood from his hands and face onto a handkerchief. He tsked at the bloodstains on his suit, but paid it little mind. He turned to Ruby.

"I have examined both Yang Xiao-Long's and Ruby Rose's fighting styles and semblances, only natural for my daughter's teammates, and your styles are different, vastly different. I doubt Ruby Rose would have attacked nearly as viciously as you did, she is still too naïve for that." He approached her. "Which begs the question. Who are you?"

Ruby's response was to spit on him; a flare of annoyance crossed his face, but soon faded back to his usual, almost preternatural scowl. He wiped the spit away with a hand. "No, clearly not Ruby Rose." He turned and walked toward the defeated Yin. "Which leaves only one real recourse." He turned back to Ruby. His eyes boring into hers as a glyph glowed gently below Yin.

"You will tell me, or I will kill her." He said, his voice almost without tone, calm and measured.

Ruby's eyes widened at the threat, realizing that those eyes did not lie. They did not need to. In this situation, they had trespassed into his domain, attacked his daughter and furthermore, in the eyes of the law, were attempting to steal Weiss out from under him. If the intruders ended up dead, there would be no one to claim it wasn't in self-defense.

"Father?" A voice asked. Ruby turned toward the source. She would have laughed if not for the severity of the situation. There stood Winter Schnee, limping forward. Her face a mess from smudged magic marker, but a clear expression of confusion played on her face.

"Daughter, thank goodness you're alright. We will have to get those injuries checked after we get rid of these intruders." He said. He spared a brief glance at Winter, but his voice remained unchanging.

"By get rid of you mean kill." Winter responded. It wasn't a question but a statement.

"Those who threaten my household, my family, will die a horrible death. I gave them a chance to leave, which is more than I normally do." Schnee responded, giving an almost imperceptible shake of his head as he did so.

"These are Weiss's friends you can't do that!" Winter said, horror on her face. Ruby continued to struggle to break free of her bonds, but they held fast.

"Friends come and go. Besides, no friend would willingly put her in danger." He glared at Yin. "No, these are quite clearly, enemies." A burst of light from the glyph caused Ruby to scream, and as a spiked pillar of ice burst from the glyph and into the ceiling, she wept.

She glared at Jacques, never had she hated someone so thoroughly before. No Grimm, not even the one who had killed her dad had elicited such a reaction.

"You call yourself a human being? You're a monster!" Ruby shouted. Her rage gave her strength as she struggled to break free of the ice with renewed fervor, and the ice creaked under the strain.

Jacques Schnee did not notice this however, his attention was fixated on Winter, who instead of standing near the doorway, now stood near Yang. Her blade was pointed in his direction, the tip glistening red from fresh blood. Under her arm was the woman he had only moments before, believed he had killed. He touched his forehead, hand coming away with glistening blood. A wild swing it was then, peculiar for his daughter to strike as such.

"What are you thinking? You are protecting a woman who threatened your sister. A woman who wanted to throw Weiss into the jaws of death."

"I am defending a woman who cares for my sister, who fights for her and supports her. I am defending my sister's friends."

"Peculiar that you were trying to stop her just minutes ago."

"Yes, I wanted to stop her, not kill her. Weiss would never forgive me for that, and she will never forgive you for trying." Winter snarled.

Jacques smiled faintly "Of that I have no doubt, but I have already done many unforgiveable things. I have forced her to fight a monster to show her her own limits. I have pushed her to exceed them, I have been a thorn in her side with my reputation forever haunting her, and I have taken her from her friends." He withdrew his hands from his pockets. Both were balled into fists.

"But it is not a parent's right or duty to be loved at the cost of their children's safety, and if protecting my daughter makes her hate me, so be it."

"Listen to yourself. You sound like a monster." Winter said, glancing past him at the now free Ruby, who was now lifting crescent rose from the floor, before her eyes quickly moved back to her fath- Jacques.

"Let her go daughter. This needs to end."

"And if I don't?" Winter asked, a smile playing at her lips.

"Then I will kill you along with them." Schnee said.

"You are truly a poor liar." Winter replied, a wry smile now clearly shown.

Jacques never got the chance to charge, as the blunt edge of a scythe crashed down on his head. He tumbled over cradling his head. Ruby bashed him with the scythe again, forcing his limp body to sprawl out on the floor. Blood poured freely from the wound on his head as he moaned in pain.

"Let's get Weiss! He won't be fazed for long!" Ruby shouted, lifting Yang and throwing her over her back. Winter nodded, and the two rushed off.

"Left, third door from the end." Winter gasped. Ruby vanished in a burst of petals, appearing quickly at the door Winter had pointed out. She kicked it open.

She stared into the room. It was clean and methodical, a desk to one side with bookcase on both sides. Across from the desk was a bed, simple with white sheets and a set of drawers.

But what drew Ruby's eyes was a figure in a purple shirt and skirt. Her white hair was done in a braid, different from how Ruby remembered it, she recalled Weiss wearing an off center ponytail but it was a different time, a different world.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper as she chocked on her own words, her throat clenching and her heart pounding.

When Weiss Schnee spun around, her eyes were wide with surprise. "Ruby?"

For a moment, Ruby simply stared back. He feelings were a jumble, she could barely think. She had no idea how to react, how to respond. "Yeah?"

There was a moment's silence. Ruby silently kicked herself; how the hell did that make any sense? "Yeah" was not the way to begin this!

"What are you doing in Atlas?" Weiss asked, clearly dumbfounded.

Instead of explaining Ruby walked forward slowly, she reached out a hand, her expression uncertain.

"It's really you?" She asked, her voice catching.

Weiss raised an Eyebrow. "Yes, is there some point to this Ruby? It's only been a few months."

Ruby paused, her heart sinking at the reminder that this wasn't the Weiss she knew. They looked nearly the same. The scar over the eye was an exact copy, and the way she talked was the same too, but the differences were there too.

This Weiss looked more restrained, her posture more rigid, as if there was someone in the background always watching her for the slightest mistake.

Ruby inhaled, paused briefly and let the breath out. She strode up to Weiss and grabbed her arm. She felt her hand tingle at the faint touch, but ignored the feeling.

"There isn't time, we have to leave now." Ruby said, turning and dragging Weiss towards the door.

"How did you get here? How did you get past father and Winter?"

"Fighting, lots of fighting, now let's go!" Ruby said as Weiss dug her heels into the floor.

"Not until this thing is off. I can't use aura with it on." Weiss said, raising her left arm.

There was a small pale bracelet made of steel, embossed with the Schnee crest, but otherwise unadorned. "What is that?" Ruby asked.

Weiss opened her mouth to explain, but instead her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "Winter!"

Ruby spun in time to feel a fist strike her stomach, the air forced from her lungs. She was pushed back slamming right into Weiss. The two tumbled back into Weiss's room. Jacques Schnee, standing tall in front of them, tossed the limp bodies of their friends inside as well.

"I am deeply displeased." He hissed. Ruby glared at him, realizing that for the first time since they met, he was clearly expressing an emotion on his face, murderous rage.

* * *

**Mild Spoilers Below!**

AN: So for those who read the chapter and have seen the new RWBY episode, Weiss and Winter have a younger brother. He does not exist in this story. I apologize to those who are disappointed in that, but I don't know anything about his character, and going forward, Hirshja and I agreed that shoehorning him in was not a good idea.

**-Spoilers over-**

This was also my first serious fight scene, Hirshja has helped a lot with it. If anyone has advice on how to write fight scenes please leave your advice in a review, it would be appreciated.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

* * *

BN: Oh this is a good one. My biggest worry when reading through what Deamon wrote was that Jacques came across as being over powered. It's important to remember though, that he wasn't really winning the fight at first. I hope we did a good job of conveying that the fight wasn't really in his favor because of skill.

On a non-story related note, apparently we learned a lot more about the Schnee family in this week's episode (season 4 episode 2). I however, am not a sponsor and thus haven't watched it at the time of my writing this, but I'm super pumped that we are finally learning about the family behind the corporation.

–Hirshja–

* * *

Please follow, favorite and review!


	23. Chapter 23

Beta: Hirshja

I do not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth Productions.

* * *

"Displeased at what? That you got knocked out?" Ruby wheezed. A foot slamming into her stomach made her hack as the air was forced from her lungs yet again.

"Father! What are you doing?" Weiss demanded.

"What must be done." He spat. He looked furious, his eyes narrowed to slits. Blood still dripped from his face, and his suit was stained with his own blood.

"Now leave, while I clean this up."

Ruby looked at Weiss, eyes pleading. Weiss looked at her, turned and briefly glanced at the door. Her eyes hardened before turning to her father. Weiss's hands were balled into fists.

"No."

Schnee looked mildly surprised. "What?" He hissed. The pressure on Ruby lessened. She grabbed his leg with both hands.

"She said no, dumbass." Ruby wheezed before twisting with all her might. A loud crack echoed through the room. Schnee shrieked in pain as he fell to the side, Weiss shirked back, wincing at the ugly sound. Before rushing to Ruby's side. She yanked her up.

"My leg!" Schnee screamed, grasping helplessly at his broken leg. Ruby had twisted it more than three hundred sixty degrees Blood stains grew from the pant leg as the leg bent at a unnatural angle. His toes pointing at the floor even as his lay face up.

Ruby rushed over to Yin and the others, "Get up!" She demanded, getting a moan from Yin as a response. She rolled her eyes.

"We don't have time for this." Weiss said marching forwards. She raised her hand and gave Yin a fierce slap. The goddess yelped and sat upright. She rubbed her cheek. "Damn princess, no need to slap someone." She grumbled.

Weiss ignored her, and repeated the action with both Winter and Yang. Ruby pulled Yang up and looked into her eyes.

"You have a slight concussion. We can deal with that later." Ruby said, turning to Winter and releasing Yang. "Winter, Weiss has an aura-blocking bracelet on, can you get it off." Winter shook her head.

"Father has the Key card to do that." She turned to look at her father, who lay whimpering on the floor. "But I doubt he can stop you from taking it."

Yin approached him cocking her gauntlets. He looked at her, hatred in his eyes as he raised a hand a glyph beginning to form. Yin slammed down, her gauntlets blazing as she did so, Her fist slammed him right in the face and he slammed back into the flooring.

"Yang! That is my father!" Weiss exclaimed, although Ruby noted there seemed to be rather… little concern in her voice.

Yin shrugged. "Hey, you should have punched him sooner then, ya snooze you lose."

"I agree with you there." Yang said walking up to Yin and patting her on the back.

Weiss paused glancing back and forth between the two of them. She put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, why are there two Yangs?"

Ruby sighed. "It's a long story, I'll explain it when we get out of here." She said catching a keycard that Yin tossed her. Weiss held out her arm with the bracelet and Ruby held the card over it. After a quick high-pitched whine and the sound of turning gears the bracelet fell to the ground. Weiss rubbed her wrist.

"Now that that's done", she began, before turning to Winter, "Winter, can we use your ship to get out of here?"

Winter grinned and nodded. "I'll lead the way."

There was no opposition on their way to the hanger. There was no opposition within the hanger; in fact, there was no opposition at all.

"You know, I was expecting a lot of bodyguards." Yin said calmly, giving the wide hanger lined with a variety of bullheads a cursory glance.

"Father disliked having security glaring him in the face, he liked the illusion that there wasn't constant danger all around us." Winter said.

"He liked his illusions all right." Weiss responded, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Nobody spoke until they arrived in front of a pale white bullhead. Other than its pale white paint job, it seemed ordinary. Winter pulled open the pilot door.

"You four destroy the other bullheads." She ordered. Ruby, Yin and Yang turned and headed off to the other bullheads.

Weiss paused for a moment looking at her left hand. Winter noticed the gesture and smiled as she reached inside her ship, pulling out Myrtenaster and tossing it to Weiss, who nimbly caught the rapier. A look of shock crossed her face before she looked up at Winter. Winter grinned, "Never forget your weapon". She chided before seating herself in the cockpit. Winter nodded and rushed off to help in the destruction of the Schnee family's fleet of Airships and Bullheads.

Less than five minutes later, they were in the air.

"Nobody forgot anything I presume." Winter said.

Ruby Paled. "Oh no…" She whispered. Winter turned in her head, looking at the girl she was sitting next too. "What did you forget?" She asked.

"Rubes, I think we forgot Crimson Eclipse." Yin said.

"Crimson what?" Weiss asked.

"That's the weapon that fires thermal dust bombs right?" Yang asked casually.

The bullhead lurched to the right as Winter jerked in her seat.

"Civilian's shouldn't have that kind of heavy ordinance! Once of those could take a out an entire settlement!" She said, her face grave.

"You dolt! Five months! How can you go and build a new weapon in five months?"

Ruby blushed, whether from embarrassment at the nickname or at the need to explain this awkward situation she couldn't decide.

"Give me a sec." Ruby said. Pulling out Crescent rose. She walked to edge of the craft and opened the door. Wind buffeted into the aircraft as the cargo door slid up.

"Ruby! We're a thousand feet in the air!" Weiss shouted,

"Should be good then." Ruby said nonchalantly. "Keep the door open." She leapt out of the bullhead. Only Yin's strong grip on the ex-heiress stopped her from launching herself out in a foolish attempt to rescue Ruby. She spun to Yang. What do you think you're doing! Your sister just jumped out of a moving vehicle."

"Five". Yin said.

"What are you talking about? This is absurd!"

"Four".

"Yang Xiao-long! Do you have any idea what a thousand foot drop is?"

"Three".

"Unhand me you brute! I have to save your sister from her own stupidity!"

"Two!"

"You keep counting down and I will chop off this arm!"

"Hey Rubes, you're back early."

Weiss turned back to the door that was slowly closing. Ruby stood, a bag in front of her with her hands on her knees. She was breathing heavily.

"Note to self, do not run through heavily forested area, even if the trees are a good launching point." Ruby gasped.

"Ruby, how did you do that?" Weiss asked, dumbfounded.

"Ran, used semblance, Crescent Rose, good balance." She gasped.

"What".

"She's a badass goddess Weiss." Yang said.

"Huh?" Weiss asked, turning to the blonde. She was now thoroughly confused.

"Whelp, it's time for the talk." Yin clapped her hands together with a grin.

"I'm listening." Winter responded lazily, only half listening. Ruby and Weiss seated themselves as Yin grin turned mischievous.

"Now when two people love each other very much-"

"Yin, the actual talk please. The one with Vytal and Fenrir and all that". Ruby demanded, her eyes icy.

Yin smiled, she simply couldn't resist.

* * *

Back at the Schnee mansion things were going rather poorly for Jacques Schnee. His aura was healing his broken leg quickly, but he still couldn't put any weight on it. He had frozen the wounds on his face to staunch the bleeding and had reset the nose that Yin had broken. His broken leg was set in a cast of ice, unpleasant, but it allowed him to stumble to his office. He would much rather be in his office when the paramedics treated him. Having some semblance of control was important, and there was no place where he was more unquestionably in control than his office.

Thus, it came as a surprise when, shoving open the mahogany door to said office, he was greeted by the sight of a young woman sitting in his chair. Her elbows were on the oak desk, and she had a book from one of the bookcases that surrounded the room.

"The third crusade is a lovely book. I see you have a first edition." She said closing the book and placing it in front of her. She smiled at him.

He limped into the room and moved to sit on one of the two sofas by the coffee table, rather than give her the satisfaction of sitting on the other side of the desk. He winced in pain as he more collapsed than sat on the leather sofa.

"They did a number on you it seems. A soldier and three huntresses-in training too much for the legendary Jacques Schnee?" She said, moving her fingers through her green hair, her red eyes never leaving him.

"My hunter days are long behind me, I am somewhat rusty." He admitted. Not being able to admit one's failures was a weakness he did not permit in himself. Today he failed, but he would get another chance, and would make his daughters realize their foolishness.

"Your orders were simple, you were supposed to keep your daughters preoccupied and under your supervision. You were supposed to keep them under control." Emerald said as she stood. She slowly walked towards him her fingers trailing along the desk. "You failed. My mistress does not deal well with failure of such magnitude."

"The Schnee family as been your ally for generations, you would betray that over a couple of girls who are simply going through a rebellious phase?" He snarled.

"Do not presume to know what is important." She said quickly. "My master intended to avoid very specific casualties for very specific reasons. You have disrupted her plans."

"If I had known what these plans were than I could have avoided disrupting them." Jacques argued.

Emerald pulled a gun out and pointed it Schnee's head. "You wouldn't have disrupted the plan if you had been competent." Emerald glared at the man, annoyed that his eyes seemed to be daring her to squeeze the trigger, but Salem had given her very clear instructions; she was not to kill the man.

"Be thankful that she is feeling merciful today." Emerald said holstering her gun. "Find where Glynda Goodwitch and her allies are hiding then report it to me. You have one week."

"And if I don't?" Jacques snarled.

"Then we get creative with your punishment." Emerald replied, walking past him and out the door.

Jacques Schnee hesitated for a moment before walking over to his desk; he sat down in it and pulled open a drawer. The drawer was actually a mini-fridge, full of chilled alcohol. He pulled out a bottle of gin, he generally preferred whisky, but tonight certainly required something more potent. He ignored the glasses, unscrewing the cap and drank straight from the bottle. He drank deeply, ignoring the taste. He swished some in his mouth, grimacing at the lack of alcohol. He spat it out a moment later.

"That witch swapped it with water." He hissed. Glaring at the bottle, he visibly paled as he saw a sticky note attached to it.

"This is not water?" He read under his breath. "Then what is it?" He winced at a growing heat in his leg and looked down. His skin felt unbearably cold, but the inside of his leg was burning. He hissed at the pain, feeling a pounding in his skull. He cursed as he dropped the bottle on the floor scrambling to reach the phone on the desk. Sharp pains were now shooting through his leg and the pain was unbearable. He reached out for the phone, only to feel the pain even more sharply.

Emerald grinned as she heard the screams coming from the office. It wasn't poison, but it was something with a few dust additives, Salem had given her a small vial of the stuff, it tasted like sugar water, but effectively started a chain reaction that paralyzed a person's ability to restore or manipulate aura.

That meant his broken leg was not only feeling the cold from the ice cast, but the nerves in his broken leg and skull as well. Emerald chuckled. The rich slave driver deserved every bit of it in her opinion.

"That's why you don't awaken someone's aura at birth." She said. Waking a person's aura at birth gave them extra protection; valuable for the Schnee family who were always in danger of kidnapping or worse, but it also increased their sensitivity to stimuli that aura tended to reduce, especially pain.

She was tempted to walk back in to the office to remind him of her threat, but decided against it. Jacques Schnee was more malleable than he appeared, and the suspicion that Emerald could strike at any time would keep him in line.

"Maybe it'll kick him off the alcohol, I'm such a kind person." Emerald said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She walked out of the mansion, vanishing into the night.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the Chapter! We're testing out some new days for when to release chapters, so the release schedule might be a little more erratic for awhile. I apologize for it, but it's a necessary evil.

Thanks to Hirshja for betaing the chapter!

Please follow favorite and Review!


	24. Chapter 24

Beta: Hirshja

I don't own RWBY. (If I did, Ruby would have _two_ scythes that were high impact sniper rifle/ grenade launchers.)

* * *

Much sputtering from Weiss (arguing the laws of physics) and a few jerky turns of the bullhead from Winter had been the only negative reactions of the revelation that gods and goddesses did exist, and they just so happened to look almost exactly like their own friends.

"I presume I am a good influence on you then." Weiss said, a hint of pride in her voice.

"You were." Ruby whispered, looking out the window of the bullhead to avoid looking at Weiss. There was an uncomfortable silence after that.

Looking at Weiss caused feelings Ruby had long suppressed to come back, good memories and bad. Memories she had forgotten, or denied existed. Her mannerisms reminded her of the Weiss she had befriended, had fought with, had killed for. They, the four member of Team RWBY had become family over the years, a family that had become as close as her biological one, if not closer. Especially Weiss.

A family that had been slowly, brutally, cruelly torn apart.

"Rose." Winter said from the cockpit. Ruby grimaced as old memories of that name came to the fore. She turned. "Yes?" She said, a little more harshly than she intended.

Yin winced, watching her sister suffer like this was unbearable. She had seen it before, had seen her curled into a ball, grasping the hilt of a broken Myrtenaster, rusted blood and all, sobbing her heart out. Something had broken in Ruby that day, and it wasn't pleasant.

Weiss had always insisted on being formal on missions and called her Commander Rose. Ruby though, insisted on informality. The compromise had been "Rose". Intimate enough that it wasn't exactly professional, but allowed Weiss the formality that, as a member of the Schnee family, was expected. Yin turned her attention to what Winter was saying.

"So if gods and Goddesses exist, you have existed since the dawn of time correct?"

"No, but compared to you we have incredibly long lifetimes, and age very slowly."

"So, how long has team RWBY been working together in your world?" Weiss asked what was clear as day the question she really wanted the answer to.

Ruby turned and rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eye's at me!" Weiss snapped.

Ruby grinned, the familiarity comforting her. "We've been a team for a long time."

"Long enough to get real close." Yin chirped, sniggering as she was given an icy glare form both Weiss and Ruby. Yang grinned.

"Even in other dimensions she teases" Weiss asked an open palm directed at Yin.

Ruby nodded, the grin still on her face "I think she's worse".

"Seconded!" Yang added. Ruby rolled her eyes and walked to the cockpit. She leaned past the open steel door and poked her head in.

"So where exactly are we going?" Ruby asked.

"We are going to the city of Atlas." Winter said. Her grip tightened on the controls of the bullhead. Her face set in a confused grimace, as if she wasn't sure what to believe.

"Still trying to wrap your head around everything?" Ruby asked mildly, unsurprised at the reaction.

A stiff nod was her only reply. Ruby sighed, she understood what the problem was, The fact that Remnant and it struggles, engulfing everything that Winter cared about, was only a small drop in the grand scheme, if even that, was tough to swallow. Ultimately, revealing it was necessary, but that didn't mean she liked it.

In the back Yang had drifted off to sleep, snoring on Yin's shoulder. Yin stroked Yang's hair, sympathizing with the girl. The day had been draining.

"You two really look like sisters." Weiss whispered, wary of waking her teammate.

Yin smiled. "You must be having some trouble wrapping your head around this." She replied, hoping to change the subject.

"Where to begin? You and Rose are not exactly the same as Yang and Ruby, yet you're incredibly similar." Weiss insisted. "Rose is less of a dolt though." was added as an afterthought

Yin chuckled. "Not wrong there, but…" Her face twisted, trying to find the right words "She's not the same. Not as bright or happy."

"Doesn't that happen with age?"

Yin shook her head gently. "Not what I'm talking about. She's quiet, distant. Honestly, she reminds me a little bit of how our Weiss was. Strict and blunt."

"Well, the Guardians are basically a Military aren't they? Strictness from your commander is to be expected."

"Yea, but not like this. There isn't a difference between when she's on duty and when she's not anymore"

Weiss quirked her eyebrow, "I can't say I could ever imagine Ruby being strict, bribing her is easy. Just offer her a cookie."

"But I'm guessing strawberries work better." Yin stated, a knowing grin on her face.

"And much healthier." Weiss agreed.

Silence hung in the air until Ruby walked back into the hold, "We'll be in Atlas airspace in an hour, we're meeting up with Ironwood." Ruby said matter-of-factly. She walked over to Yin, pulling off her jacket. It had taken a lot of damage from the fights with Weiss's father; she made a mental note to get it replaced in Atlas. Ruby sighed, realizing she'd likely have to steal one, or get Winter to get it for her, neither option was appealing.

She sat down next to Yin, folding the damaged jacket in her lap and resting her hands on it. She glanced over to the bag containing Crescent Rose and Crimson Eclipse, her muscles relaxed, the knowledge that her weapons were within arms reach comforting her ever so slightly.

"Rose." Weiss said, clearing her throat. Ruby turned to look at her. The heiress (likely former heiress), kept her gaze leveled on Ruby, not losing eye contact for a single moment. Ruby felt her heart seize, dreading the questions to come.

Weiss took a deep breath, knowing what she was about to ask would probably cause an indescribable amount of emotional pain, but she also knew that saving the questions until later would only make the pain worse. It was like a Band-Aid, ripping it off might hurt, but it was better than the slow torture of having it peeled off.

She felt herself tense up as Ruby's eyes hardened, she did not look away, instead sitting like she was ready, and expecting, an interrogation. A quick glance to Yin revealed the woman was tense as well, her eyes glancing back and forth between her and Ruby.

"What happened to Blake?" Weiss asked. She immediately cursed herself for not asking about herself as well, but the visible relief in Yin's eyes told her that any questions about the Vytalian Weiss would have to wait.

"She became infected with the Darkness, becoming something more similar to a Grimm." Ruby said mechanically.

"How is that even possible?" Weiss sputtered.

Ruby shrugged. "How is irrelevant, it happened, she was in detention."

"Was?"

"She broke out, we don't know how and why, but it happened, and now she's somewhere on Remnant." Yin supplied.

"Is she dangerous? Shouldn't we be looking for her?" Weiss asked.

"She was still of sound mind while she was in prison. When she escaped, it seemed she had fallen under the influence of Fenrir. Killing him should resolve our problems."

"And if it doesn't? Are we going to search for a cure?" Weiss asked. This might not be the Blake she knew that they were speaking of, but it was still Blake, and she would do everything she could to help.

"There is no cure." Yin whispered.

"She didn't kill anyone back in Vytal to my knowledge so there may be some hope." Ruby began before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When her eyes opened, Weiss felt a shiver down her spine, the eyes were not Ruby's, the childlike innocence that was in her partner was hidden well in the Vytal goddess, but normally still there. Now though, there was nothing, the stare of those silver eyes was much more dangerous, they were cold and decisive.

"If she doesn't change back, if she goes on a real rampage, we'll stop her."

Even to Weiss, the implied method needn't be said. The rest of the trip was experienced in near absolute silence; the whirr of the Bullhead engine and Yang's incessant snoring were the only things breaking the silence.

Ruby's words hung in the air, suffocating any jovial atmosphere that may have existed.

* * *

Fenrir relaxed in a diner. Whenever they were in a settlement, it had become common for him to wake up, meet Nora, and head out to the diner with her while Ren ran errands or made sure Ruby and Jaune were on schedule. Nora had tried to get Ren to tag along, but it hadn't worked out, something about how Nora and Fenrir should bond more.

At first Fenrir had been concerned that Ren would be jealous that he was taking Nora to a diner, something that he understood from the waitress most would consider a "date". However, Ren seemed happy to have someone else occupy Nora's time, it allowed him to get some well-deserved rest.

Obviously Fenrir had no feelings of attraction towards the girl, he hadn't ever felt attracted towards anyone. At least not the way the Waitress had described. Explanations about thumping hearts and sweaty palms only confused him. Sweaty palms came from holding weapons too tightly, and thumping hearts came from the rush of battle, did he love battle? The thought disturbed him for some reason.

He wondered if he didn't feel attraction towards people because he usually ended up killing them. He shrugged, yet another reason to put off blowing this plane and all the others to kingdom come.

He thoughts were interrupted as he felt Nora poke his cheek. He glanced at the girl.

"What?" He asked.

"You need to shave and get a haircut. Your beard is prickly!" She commented.

Fenrir chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll have to do that today."

"Your float is melting by the way." Nora added.

Fenrir swore as he looked down at his drink. Nora had convinced him to try something called a root beer float. Fenrir had been reluctant at first; it certainly couldn't have matched a milkshake. But Nora had convinced him to order it by telling him it had ice cream in it.

She seemed to have forgotten it was vanilla ice cream. Either that or she was trying to torture him. He had taken to waiting for the ice cream to melt, hoping the carbonated drink (presumably tasting of chocolate as it was brown) would cover the vanilla taste.

He hadn't expected the Vanilla ice cream too melt and drip down the sides of the glass.

He scrambled to grab napkins, while Nora laughed at him.

"Nora! A little help please." He begged, as the napkin dispenser ran out of napkins.

Customer service here sucked.

"You gotta drink it!" Nora cheered.

Fenrir looked at the half melted ice cream in the glass. He gulped audibly, mentally preparing himself for the horror before him.

He desperately wondered if there was another way out. He glanced at the other tables; they were all occupied. Ren wasn't here, would it be all that bad if he went and grabbed another table's napkin box? Just because they were nailed down didn't mean the table would come with it, and it wasn't like he and Nora were having another napkin war.

It wouldn't work, Nora would almost certainly regale Ren with the story, and there would be exaggerations, but Ren would hear of Fenrir stealing napkins, and then he'd get the Disappointed face. He hated the Disappointed face.

He picked up the metal spoon. "Here goes nothing." He said, digging into the float much to Nora's glee.

Ren was gathering twigs for a fire when Nora dragged a moaning Fenrir back to camp. He dropped the twigs as Nora carried Fenrir on her back, Fenrir's feet dragging behind him.

* * *

"What happened?" Ren asked, rushing over to the two of them.

Fenrir moaned. "My stomach, my head…"

Nora grinned, plopping Fenrir down into the dirt near the makeshift fire pit.

"Fenrir got smashed!"

Ren paused, dreading the implication. "Wait what? What happened?" Ren asked a little more quickly and loudly than usual as he grabbed Nora shoulders.

"He had a Root Beer float, and didn't realize there was a cherry on top. He ate it so fast that he got an ice cream headache too!"

Ren let out a sigh of relief. He really needed to talk to Nora about what slang was. He half expected her to know full well what she had said, and what it implied. In fact, he was almost certain of it.

"Nora, did you give him something with vanilla in it?"

"Nooooooo! Why would I do that?"

"You know he hates it."

"What, I thought that was chocolate." Nora said with an awkward smile.

Fenrir moaned.

Ren shook his head. He wondered what this was revenge for; because there was no way Nora had actually forgotten that Fenrir liked chocolate.

* * *

A/n: Soooo...

Sorry about last week. It was completely my fault, I sent the wrong chapter to Hirshja and it caused a lot of delays. But, on the bright side, Next week's chapter will definitely be on time (if not early).

Also, Hirshja and I have discussed editing the first few chapters before he came on as a formal Beta, because that is currently almost half of the story, it'll take some time. That combined with me getting a new computer (with a different OS) means that in January we will be going on a brief Hiatus. I'm giving it a rough estimate of one month at the time, if it turns out I'm wrong, I have some backup plans, never fear, new chapters will be released come February.

In late December, I'll be releasing a short story based in my old RWBY Meets world AU, so if there are any readers who have been waiting patiently for that, your wait is about to be rewarded.

Please Follow, Favorite and Review! Thanks for reading!


	25. Chapter 25

General James Ironwood stood watching the burning wreck of a bullhead. This he noted, observing the motley crew clamber at of the wreckage was not what he had expected for today to bring him.

Winter approached him, clearing her throat to get his attention. He turned to look at her.

"Sir." She said, saluting.

"Schnee." He replied with a nod and a curt "At ease" before scanning the rest of the group before him.

In front of him stood Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and two Yang Xiao Longs, but Blake Belladonna was not present. He made note of this information and quickly began think of how he could use it to his advantage.

"I think we should all go inside, and you can explain to me why there was an attack by the White Fang on Schnee manor."

"It wasn't the White Fang." Weiss said walking forward.

"Then who was it?" Ironwood asked.

"Us." Yin said grinning, pointing her thumb at herself.

"You? As in you?" He asked pointing at the two blondes and Ruby, who was currently face-palming and shaking her head.

"Yep. It was really easy, no offense Winter."

Ironwood paused for a moment before reaching into his jacket, pulling out his flask, and downing the entire thing. He had the sneaking suspicion that he would need much more before this was over. He glanced once more at Winter Schnee, frowning as he did so.

"We will continue this in my office." He said turning away from the group. He paused for a moment, turning his head. "And Schnee, clean that mess off your face".

With that, he left.

Winter turned to Weiss. "What did he mean?" she asked, perplexed at his statement.

Weiss stared at her sister; her hand covered her mouth in attempt to stop herself from laughing. It worked well until Yin snorted, at which point both her and Weiss lost all control and doubled over with laughter. Ruby and Yang watched on, Yang with mirth, and Ruby with clear displeasure

Winter looked at the four in confusion before turning to address Ruby. "Rose, What is on my face?" She asked, her voice full of menace.

"Best if you find out for yourself." She said with a wry grin, "I'll be here making sure these idiots don't wreck anything else".

Winter rushed off, the horror of what could be drawn on her face pushing her legs to move as quickly as possible.

As Yang, Yin and Weiss regained their senses, Ruby remained stock-still. Her arms crossed. Her eyes focused not on Weiss, but instead on the stump of Yang's arm."Unless we resolve that soon, Yang is going to get herself killed."

She bit her lip and wondered how close Remnant's Ruby was to her sister. This world was similar to their own, but also wildly different. Those she believed dead were alive, those she believed to be alive were dead, and perhaps their relationships were different as well.

A shiver ran up Ruby's spine at the thought. "Jaune and Weiss." She whispered, cringing at the mere possibility.

"Did you say something Rose?" Weiss asked, causing Ruby to spin in place.

Weiss stood prim and proper, her hands on her hips, and Myrtenaster at her side. The look was completed with Weiss's characteristic scowl. Ruby smiled slightly and shook her head. "I'm fine, but I have a question for you."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, surprised that the goddess actually had something to say to her. "Go ahead."

"Why do you call me Rose?"

Weiss stiffened "I'm sorry, it's just that it allows me to differentiate between Ruby, my Partner and You. I thought-"

Ruby held her hand up. "It's not a problem, it's just that my partner used to call me that, so I was wondering if you called your partner that too." Ruby's voice faded as she spoke, ending as little more than a whisper.

Ruby turned on her heel and walked towards the door. "It's about time that we follow Ironwood right?" She asked, quickly changing the subject. Yin and Yang followed her easily, Yang patting Weiss on the back as she passed.

"Nice to have you back Weiss." She whispered quietly before following Yin.

Weiss slowly nodded, pursing her lips as she did so. Ruby's reaction bothered her; she would have to keep a closer eye on the goddess.

More concerning is what happened to the other me. What specifically happened to change Ruby to such an extent?

This Ruby was confident, upfront and blunt, but she also gave off a bit of a cold demeanor, almost as if everything went through a filter before she actually reacted.

Weiss shook her head, saving such thoughts for a better time, before following the others into the building.

* * *

Winter rushed to the bathroom, her face redder than Ruby's cloak, and her heels clacking on the ground at a loud volume. She practically shoved a hapless worker out of the way as she pushed into the bathroom.

"Those brats! What did they do?" She asked. Her mind was full of theories; everything from sexist messages (unlikely) to embarrassing drawings was a possibility. They might have just doodled on her face, maybe a moustache and a monocle; she had heard that less disciplined students did that to their classmates.

No, this was Yang Xiao-Long she was talking about. Weiss had said she was the master of pranks, and that she had no self-restraint. It would be far worse.

What if she put Anti-Atlas propaganda on her face? It would be damning to her career, as if being beaten weren't bad enough. Granted they were Goddesses, and were presumably very powerful but nobody else knew that!

She glared at the mirror. Looking at her face, absorbing the doodles.

"Cat whiskers?" She wondered looking at the lines starting at her nose, which had been colored black by the marker, and reaching to sides of her cheeks, each side had three lines. Winter gave a sigh of relief and hastened to wash off the marks.

* * *

After that fiasco in the bathroom, Winter sat in a chair opposite from Ironwood. She was scowling, clearly displeased that she had to clean off her face, and undoubtedly at the embarrassment she experienced in front of her Commanding officer.

Ironwood sat, his fingers intertwined and resting just under his chin. He glanced at the group as they came in.

"Nice to see you arrived." Winter said, a hint of anger in her voice.

Yin took a few steps forward with a small grin on her face. "If you are so angry about a little doodle, I'm worried how you'll react to an actual prank."

Winter ignored her and turned to Weiss, the question apparent in her eyes.

Weiss smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, if I had known we were going to be here before we were on the Bullhead I would have told you."

Winter looked away, clearly unsatisfied with the answer.

"Winter was telling me a very strange story." He began. "I am finding it hard to believe."

"She's probably exaggerating the fight, really it lasted maybe a few minutes"

Yin began, but Weiss's elbow to her gut silenced her, even though it caused no injury to the goddess.

Ironwood ignored the Action, looking at Ruby Intently. "Perhaps you could explain what is going on?" He asked her calmly. Ruby nodded and sat down in a chair next to Winter before crossing her legs.

"Where should I begin?"

"At the beginning if you would."

Yin, Weiss, and Yang remained the background, passively observing Ironwood's reactions as Ruby slowly walked him through the relevant events in Vytal, What type of threat Fenrir posed, and everything else leading up to Weiss's rescue.

"I'm really getting sick of having to explain this to everyone." Yin commented.

"If I recall, Rose was the one to explain it Winter and I as well. You shouldn't be complaining." Weiss retorted. Yang shrugged.

"So how do you think Ironwood will react?" Yin said, growing uncomfortable with the lull in conversation.

"That depends on how convinced by your story he is, it is fairly unbelievable after all."

"Yeah, God versions of people in another dimension. It all sounds like a really bad comic story or something." Yang said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Well it seems someone is feeling better." Weiss said, the hint of a smile on her face. She looked at Yang intently. Her gaze lingered on the stump of Yang's arm.

"Yeah…" Yang replied, following Weiss's gaze before shifting uncomfortably at her self-destructive actions. A silence developed and awkwardness pervaded the air.

"Ya' know, your sister reminds me a little of Weiss." Yang suddenly blurted out. Yin and Weiss turned, surprise on their faces.

"How so?" Yin asked, wondering the reasoning behind it. She agreed wholeheartedly with the statement, but wondered how Yang came to that conclusion.

"She's a little cold, absurdly professional, and has an unpleasant past!" Yang chirped.

"Something that vague would fit Blake too. But I think I'll accept the compliment." Weiss said cautiously.

"Not sure that cold and absurdly professional count as compliments." Yin said awkwardly, hoping her little sister couldn't hear them. Yin held a firm belief that Ruby was someone who needed support.

Yin did not doubt that Ruby was deadly to any Grimm she faced, but as powerful as Ruby was, without friends, she would become lost. Yin sometimes wondered if the bonds Ruby had made over the years had become her raison d'être. It would certainly explain her sudden change from the optimistic, energy-filled girl she had been. It was both heartwarming to imagine she cared that much, but also terrifying. It meant she would suffer unimaginable pain if her friends got hurt, or worse.

Yin was snapped out of her train of thought by Ironwood clapping his hands together. "That is… a lot to swallow. I'm sure you can imagine I am still skeptical."

"Of course." Ruby said calmly.

"As a way to present further evidence, I have an offer." Ironwood said pressing a button on his desk. A digital image of Remnant appeared in the air above them. A glowing red beacon showing a location that everyone present except for Ruby and Yin knew well.

"We believe that the attack on the CCT Tower the night before the First years went on their first missions was an opportunity for the assailant to both plant a virus, and steal data. However, the Wyvern at Beacon academy is currently attracting hordes of Grimm, making it extremely difficult to recover any data on whether what occurred that night is related to the Vytal Festival Attack."

"You want us to kill the Grimm and recover the data." Ruby surmised.

Ironwood grinned and nodded "Exactly. Of course, I don't expect you to do this for free. Complete the mission and you have my support, and with it, likely Atlas's. I will also make sure Jacques Schnee does not have the ability to force his daughters to do anything ever again."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "That is a fairly generous deal."

"Yes, What do you gain from it?" Ruby asked.

"Atlesian specialists will take the credit for Beacon's liberation. It might smooth over some of the hostility, and then I can lift the Dust embargo on the other kingdoms. The balance of power will also be somewhat restored if Vale can begin training huntsmen again."

"…You would be made out as a hero."

"And Jacques Schnee will get his profits, and owe me a favor for it." Ironwood admitted. He turned to Yang "If you would like to go with the others we will have to outfit you with a mechanical arm, Gepetto will want to begin right away".

Yang paused. Yin stepped forward, saving Yang from an awkward discussion.

"Unfortunately, we are searching for-"

"Blake Belladonna, who is currently targeting White Fang outposts in Vale. Intel reports that she is searching for the Fang's Vale Headquarters." He said pressing another button showing pictures of Blake, ruined outposts and several Fang members.

"From what I know, she is searching for-"

"Her old mentor." Yang said

"Adam Taurus?" Ruby questioned. Everyone's heads whipped towards her.

"He's dead in Vytal. He tried to cause a coup, it failed."

"I see."

Yin slammed her fists together, her eyes glowing red. "And he caused our Dad to get killed in the Grimm invasion that came after."

The silence in the room was complete. Everybody was taking in this new revelation. Ironwood cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.

"I presume you will take the mission then?" Ironwood asked.

"Wouldn't dream otherwise."

* * *

Omake:

General James Ironwood was not a man to be trifled with. He was also not a man who had much of a sense of humor, so when Winter Schnee contacted him and requested landing permission on the sky deck above his office, where his personal bullhead was, he did not for a second think that it was a prank.

As the airship crashed down onto the landing pad, knocking his bullhead onto its side, skidded to a halt inches in front of him and then spontaneously burst into flames, he wondered if Winter had finally developed a sense of humor.

He became only more confused as two Yang Xiao Longs got out of the side of the airship, raising an eyebrow as he tried to come to a reasonable conclusion. Fortunately for his confidence in his sanity, Winter kicked out the windshield of the bullhead and clambered out, coughing and gasping as she exited the smoking ruin.

"Why didn't you mention there was a remote deactivation sequence on the bullhead?" The general heard Winter's younger sister's shout as she followed her sister out of the charred ruin.

"How was I supposed to know Father would deactivate a bullhead in flight? At least I didn't stab the control panel!"

"I destroyed the deactivation program." Weiss retorted

"As well as the stabilization program!" Another voice snapped.

"Well, we got here so everything turned out fine." Weiss replied with a flip of her ponytail.

Winter gritted her teeth.

Ironwood wished he had a cup of coffee with him right now, if only so he didn't have to just stand there watching the sisters quarrel. He wondered exactly how Ozpin had dealt with so many free spirited children at his school. He suspected Ozpin had something much stronger than coffee in his mug. He made a mental note to get one. Scratch that; getting a mug would make him look like he was imitating Ozpin, he'd go with a thermos.


	26. All Roads Lead to Vale

Beta: Hirshja

I do not own RWBY

* * *

Chapter 26: All Roads Lead to Vale

Yang Xiao-Long had always been a courageous person, and it showed in her experiences and actions. She stood up for her friends, and would would always do so. She had faced down hordes of The Creatures of Grimm. She had fought at the fall of Beacon. She had combatted the white fang. She had confronted Adam Taurus. She had lost an arm defending her partner.

But now, Yang Xiao-Long, a girl who could punch through steel, was scared.

Before her, in a steel box, open for the entire world to see, was a synthetic arm. Yang could only imagine how much it cost, thousands of lien at the least, if not millions. Ironwood said they had spared on expense on it, making it durable enough for her fighting style had not been easy. Supposedly the arm had been treated with dust, making it even more durable than most airships. It was sleek, rounded edges and designed to match the size and shape of her actual arm. The silver finish disrupted only by her symbol, a burning heart, emblazoned on the back of the hand.

Yang didn't dare touch the thing.

There she was, all alone in a room loaned to her by the general. A small cot in one corner, steel flooring, plain walls and a small window looking out on Atlas where the scenery was serene. She sat on a small couch, the box resting on a glass coffee table. She could only wonder what the others would have made of the scene.

A sharp hiss signalled someone's entrance through the sliding door that she had forgotten to lock. Her head snapped towards the door, looking at the intruder. She wasn't surprised to see Yin wander in. She was wearing the white slacks of the Atlesian specialists, but only wore a black undershirt on her upper body. A yellow jacket with Black trim was slung over one arm. On her arms were her version of Ember Celica, slightly larger than Yang's own. For the first time Yang noticed the number of scars crisscrossing up Yin's left arm. The other only had a jagged scar that wrapped around the upper-arm.

"Surprised?" Yin asked, walking over to her. Heavy military boots making a clacking sound as she paced forward.

"I thought your aura would have taken care of those." Yang replied. Glancing back at the mechanical arm.

Yin smiled, patting Yang on the shoulder as she sat next to her on the couch. "Just goes to show that aura can't defend against everything." She tossed the jacket onto the coffee table, subtly covering the box.

Yang turned to her. "Are those all from Grimm?" She asked.

Yin nodded pointing to her left arm. "The crisscrossing ones are from an Alpha Rex. Not a Grimm we've seen on Remnant. They were all claws and stuff. Got these on Jotunheim."

"Jotunheim?" Yang asked.

"Big icy world, filled with People that have blue skin and average about twenty feet tall. Big egos, didn't take kindly to us killing Grimm, they worshipped them as gods."

Yang tensed, watching as Yin's face suddenly grew sad. "It was where Blake..." She began. She paused, letting out a sigh, before stroking a hand through her hair. She pointed to another scar.

"This one's from a Bear Grimm. Not one of your Ursa though, it's claws were much bigger. I ended up taking the brunt of an attack. The thing knocked me down and wailed on me, Ruby responded by taking its head off."

"And this one?" Yang asked, pointing at the circular scar on Yin's right arm.

"This one you know the story to." Yin replied, smiling as she did so.

Yang nodded, she knew where it was from. Rescuing Ruby at the price of an arm. It was a price she would have gladly paid herself if she had been in Yin's shoes.

"Yang, Are you scared?" Yin asked, her voice changing to a tone that Yang recognized. She used it herself plenty of times on her own sister. She paused glancing back at the jacket-covered box.

"I'm not sure I'm ready to fight again." Yang said after a few moments.

Yin looked at her, a moment of confusion played across her face. "Why?"

"I… I just have doubts." Yang replied unsteadily. Her hand balled up into a fist.

"Let me guess, If you put on that arm you will have to fight again, and you will have to keep fighting. You're afraid that you'll have to fight the person who took your arm. You're afraid to fight."

"No! I just told you I'm not sure I'm ready to fight!" Yang exclaimed, glaring at Yin. Yin's face was impassive.

"Yang, Nobody is ever ready to fight. You think we were ready when the Grimm invaded? My uncle was drunk and my dad fought alone... he died alone." She whispered that last part before passionately asking "Do you think he was ready for that fight?" Yin leaned back on the couch; the back of her head rested in the palms of her hands.

"Nobody wants to fight, not really. There's a thrill in fighting for people like us, but you will always be afraid. I couldn't control the force of my punches when I first got a robotic arm, I was off balance, I simply wasn't used to it. I wasn't ready to go back to fight, but I did anyway."

"Why?" Yang asked. Thinking of all the times that the concept of preparation had been spoken about in class.

"Because If I didn't, my friends might have died. I couldn't bear the thought of them risking their lives while I sat in a hospital bed, recovering. I fought, I retrained myself and I became better than before."

"But-"

"And Weiss still died, Blake still became corrupted by the darkness that emanates from all Grimm, and yet, we still call ourselves gods, do you know why?"

Yang shook her head.

"We're near immortal, we're incredibly powerful, we could rend this planet apart if we wanted to, but we don't. In the end, we don't want to hurt anyone. We call ourselves gods because we accept that with our power comes a responsibility to protect people. The thing is, accepting responsibility only takes you so far. Just like the old gods, the ones we call the Great Gods, we're starting to fail."

"Is that why Fenrir is here?"

"The way Ozpin explained it is that when a critical mass of Grimm is reached, Fenrir appears. Nothing pretty comes from that."

She leaned forward staring at her hands. "All we can do now is fight, fight and hope for the best."

With that Yin stood, resting a hand on yang's shoulder. "Anyway, you can either sit here all day and drown yourself in your fears, or put on that arm, fight them, and come with us to find Blake, hunt the White Fang, and save the world." She stood and looked down at Yang. "We're leaving tomorrow."

Yin picked up her jacket and left without another word. Yang started looking at the arm again as Yin left the room. Another hiss before silence reigned signalled the other blondes exit from the room. Yang clenched her eyes and hand tight before opening her eyes with a sigh. She turned to her own, still clenched hand and stared, for how long she didn't know, but finally, she broke out of her trance and a small smirk appeared. "Blake, When we find you, you're gonna tell me why you left." She released her fist "If it's a good answer, I might even skip pounding you into next week."

* * *

Blake Belladonna meanwhile was watching a camp burn. In part, it left bile in her mouth, she hadn't killed anyone. She couldn't even imagine doing that, but razing their camp so they couldn't launch a terrorist attack on an unsuspecting town?

She could live with that. Especially when from her vantage point on a nearby plateau she could see both the town and the camp. The town would have to be more cautious from now on, lest the Fang return.

She glanced down at the grunt beneath her boot. "Now are you going to talk or not?" She asked, pointing Gambol Shroud's blade at the helpless Faunus. "Or has there not been enough slaughter for one day?"

Just because she knew nobody had died didn't mean her source of information had to know.

"Why are you fighting your brethren? You should be helping us overthrow the humans!" The Deer Faunus began. A gentle poke from Gambol Shroud silenced him.

"I'm not here for Fang rhetoric, I want answers. You will give them to me. Are we clear?"

The deer faunus looked up at her uncertainly.

The explosion back at the burning camp lit up the sky; three tons of military grade explosives combusted, leaving the camp little more than a crater.

"You could end up like that." Blake proposed lightly.

"What do you want to know?" The grunt asked. Blake resisted the urge to roll her eyes. When did threats get so easy? She wondered.

"Where is Adam Taurus?"

* * *

Lie Ren was contemplating the benefits versus the consequences of killing their new partners. He wondered how much Salem actually cared for her Fall Maiden.

Vytalian Cinder and Remnant Cinder were nothing alike. Their motives were night and day. Their personalities were night and day. Their ideas of power were night and day. He wondered how two people who looked exactly the same could ever be as different as the councilwoman of Vytal and the Terrorist walking next to him. One thing was for sure, when this mess was over, he would make sure this sociopath was locked up. He'd also probably kneecap her partner, just for his inane flirting.

That of course, was under the increasingly absurd assumption that Valkyrie didn't pile drive him into the ground with her hammer first. The look on her face indicated that she was contemplating just that.

Mercury had asked her all sorts of personal questions, nothing that could be called harassment, but he was pushing that line to its very limit.

"So, Valkyrie, Where are you from?"

"Shut up."

Mercury chuckled, "C'mon don't be like that. You have a boyfriend?"

Valkyrie gritted her teeth, quietly reminding herself that Lie had told her not to kill their lackeys. She glanced over at Cinder. She was disappointed, Cinder was, In Valkyrie's eyes, completely fake. Her laugh was fake, her smile was fake, even her calm demeanor was fake. The fact that nobody seemed to see it but her just made it more frustrating.

The Cinder she knew was more similar to Yang. Fiery temper kept in check only by prodigious self-control. The Cinder she knew was calm with a faint smile on her lips, her eyes echoing the kindness of her soul. She was a honest woman, maybe even to a fault. She remembered when Cinder was once asked for an honest opinion, the response was "Yes, the dress makes you look fat, you should change."

Weiss had curled up in a ball for a week, with Cinder apologizing profusely. The fact that the dress was very thick and stuffy, as well as ugly probably didn't help matters.

This Cinder was different. Valkyrie could tell that from the onset. The fact that the Cinder of Remnant did not seem to be bothered at all by the potential death wish of her partner was concerning.

Lie glanced back at Valkyrie, catching her eyes. She looked at him, a pleading glance warning him that she was near the limit of her patience. A barely perceptible nod returned the gesture.

"We camp here." Lie said. Stopping in his tracks. Cinder paused behind him.

"Why? It's only midday." Cinder asked.

Lie turned to her "It is not your concern." He said calmly.

"I disagree." She began as Mercury and Valkyrie walked up to them.

Lie drew close, using his height to the best of his ability to appear imposing. "I don't trust you, I have no reason to trust you. Therefore, why we are stopping here is currently none of your concern."

Cinder remained unmoved be the tone or the comment. She looked Lie directly in the eyes and smirked. "I don't trust you either, but we are partners in this. We have the same goal." She replied with a level of confidence most people can only dream of.

"You work for Salem, do not assume that we do as well." The smirk quickly left Cinder's face, replaced with a look of confusion. Lie held her gaze. "We work with Salem. She is our ally. Do not assume we are partners in anything." Lie warned, and Cinder tensed up in response. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless. He walked past Cinder. Letting his gaze drift.

"Valkyrie, Time to set up camp."

"So sneak into Vale tomorrow?" Valkyrie quipped, pulling out a knapsack and dropping it on the ground.

Cinder was still rooted to the same spot. _Salem respects these two enough to consider them partners? Who are these people?_ She was only broken out of her trance when Mercury stepped up next to her.

"Vale? Why the hell are we going there?" Mercury asked Cinder.

Cinder remained silent, her face showed faint curiosity, it was a good question indeed.

* * *

A/N: Woo! Maybe Ruby and the others will see will face Valkyrie and Co. Who knows? Well I do, And so does Hirshja, but really, would it be any fun to tell you right off the bat? Christmas season is coming up which means the dreaded Hiatus is also nearing. Relax, we still have three or four chapters before that, and then I have a 7,000 word short from my RWBY Meets World AU for you to tide you over. You can also check out the updated chapters of Ragnarok when they are done, I'll be releasing them once Hirshja and I agree they are the best they can be.

Until next time!

B/N: Alright, so here we are. It's all coming to a head. All roads point to Vale. Well, really not all of them, just most of the ones mentioned in this story. Really though, I am excited for what's coming next here, I really enjoyed helping out with this part of the outline, and I hope ya'll like what's coming up next as well. In case it wasn't obvious, we're nearing the end of the current arc, so for those wanting to see more of Remnant RWBY, well I can't really speak to that since if Deamon has an outline for the next arc I haven't seen it yet… and I guess spoilers too.

I'm gonna be honest here, I've had to do far less work than I used to, to help Deamon with his grammar and making things readable. Those are really my "on-the-go" strengths as a beta. I can help develop a story's plot and things like that pretty easily, but it's much more difficult for me to help flesh out what's already been written down. Anywho, enjoy your Omake ya damn dirty apes.

* * *

Omake:

Mercury did not know when to give up. He also couldn't take a hint.

"So, How about a date? You're awesome, I'm awesome, We'd make a great couple."

Valkyrie was snapped out of her thoughts by the proposal. She stopped and turned facing Mercury. Her blood boiled.

Mercury had an easy grin on his face, his hands on his hips.

"Hit on me one more time, and there won't be anything left for them to clean off the ground." Valkyrie snarled.

Lie and Cinder spun around, shock clear on Lie's face. Mercury also looked surprised.

"Ask me out one more time and I'll break your legs. Make a sexual joke and I'll rip off your arms, hit on me, and I will show you exactly what a Maiden can do."

There was utter silence. Mercury was still, his jaw hung open, his eyes wide, the easy smile and relaxed posture gone. Lie was also tense, he remembered the last person to hit on Valkyrie, he was probably somewhere in Vytal's stratosphere.

Lie of course, also glanced at Cinder, wondering how she was going to react to such a threat. Only a slight narrowing of her eyes betrayed any feelings on the proceedings in front of her.

Lie cleared his throat, hoping to de-escalate the situation.

"Before we act hastily Valkyrie, maybe we should give him a chance to actually apologize for his behavior."

All eyes turned to Mercury, who had since broken into a cold sweat.

"I'm sorry."

"For?" Valkyrie asked, grinning wildly.

"Hitting on you."

"And?"

"Being a jerk."

"AND?" Valkyrie asked leaning dangerously close

"Cough- being a buttface -Cough" Lie not-so-subtly hinted, since he actually spoke the word cough. As much as he hated Mercury's personality, being down a person would not help them, even if that were likely in the very, very long term.

"Being a buttface." Mercury said through gritted teeth.

Valkyrie shrugged. "Good enough for me." She said pleasantly before skipping over to Lie and looping her arm through his. "Besides, I'm already taken."

Lie rolled his eyes. "Your ability to change moods never ceases to amaze me."

"You love it."

He chuckled in response, before the two continued on their path.

Mercury meanwhile walked up to Cinder. "Those two are crazy."

Cinder held back the instinct to snort at the understatement. "Do not-"

"Stick it in crazy?"

Cinder turned an icy glare on Mercury "-Make me regret bringing you, if you do…" She let the implied threat hang, and followed Lie and Valkyrie.

Mercury looked up. "And Dad always said the best way to get intel was hitting on girls, just another thing he was wrong about." Mercury moaned before following.

* * *

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	27. Return to Vale

Beta: Hirshja

I do not own RWBY

Chapter 27: Return to Vale

* * *

The CCT tower was in the distance. All in the bullhead were looking towards the Ruined clock tower. Although the ruined spire had long since stopped smoking, it still captivated the two goddesses in the bullhead enough to hold their gaze. So much so that the wind whipping in their faces from the open door was barely noticed, All their focus was set solely on the challenge ahead.

However, Yang and Weiss were, in reality, looking at something else dragon was still curled around the tower. The same dragon that had caused the battle to fully and permanently shift in favor of the attacking forces. It was the reason the school had remained closed and lay abandoned save for the sea of black, white and red that remained, but most importantly to them, it was the reason that their team had been disbanded. The reason for the ending of their happy dream lay in front of them.

"No, not the reason, the tool." Weiss mentally corrected herself. Weiss was well aware that in reality, there had been a sinister plot that ran quite deep, and she knew that the raven-haired girl from Mistral and her team were somehow responsible. She hadn't been there when Pyrrha died, hadn't watched what happened, but she still felt like she had a reason, a duty, to see this through to the end, if not for herself, than at the very least those who had paid the price for their failure.

Yang was thinking something along the same lines, but a different raven-haired woman danced in her head. "Where are you Blake?" Yang muttered, her voice just barely audible over the roar of the buffeting wind and the bullheads engines if one had been listening closely, though her words were still impossible to discern.

A crackling voice came over the speaker. "We're going to drop you off in the city, you can make your way to the tower from there." The crackling ended without asking if they had any questions, Weiss knew it was a sound plan though. Dropping too close to the tower would not have been a wise move. The dragon seemed to be attracting more Grimm to its position, thus the sea of Grimm was thickest closest to the frozen dragons perch atop Beacon Academy.

Weiss looked at the two goddesses, both of whom remained fixated on the view out the window. Rose was dressed in dark navy blue jeans with combat boots, paired with a black leather jacket with red trim and crimson shirt underneath, a red cloth belt was wrapped around her waist, ammo packages and dust vials hung from attached pouches. Her shoulder length hair was wrapped in a short ponytail. Crescent Rose and her other weapon sat in a white Atlesian military bag. Weiss wouldn't have noticed it was any different from a civilian gym bag if it hadn't been for the faint glow of Dust-enhanced fibers, the Schnee logo on the side, and Atlas' symbol with the words "Atlas Military" emblazoned on both ends.

Weiss found herself absently wondering if her partner now dressed in a similar way, it had been several months, long enough for a change. So much already had after all.

A nudge from Yin broke Weiss out of her musing. "Ready?" She asked gently. Weiss nodded. "Wait until the Bullhead lands, then get out ASAP". Weiss followed the woman leaping out of the bullhead with her eyes. She watched as the burst of blonde hair vanished beneath the edge of the ship, the sounds of gunshots already ringing out.

The clanking of boots on steel behind her alerted her to Yang's presence. "Nothing quite like them huh"? Yang placed her new robotic hand on Weiss's shoulder, a friendly grin appearing on her face.

The question could've been answered in many ways, Weiss choose to do so with a massive understatement. "It is strange." was her calculated response. Yang gave her shoulder a gentle, infinitely comforting squeeze.

"We have to show them what Hunters can do, can't let them get all the action." Yang said in a cheerful voice. Something in it seemed forced, but weiss decided now was not the time to ask about such things.

Instead, Weiss nodded vaguely, but neglected to respond. Choosing to remain silent as she watched the ground grow closer.

"Whelp, time to go." With that Yang released her grip on Weiss's shoulder, cocked Ember Celica and shot out of the bullhead doors. Weiss drew Myrtenaster and took a deep breath. A faint smile played on her lips. The sound of Ember Celica firing buckshot strangely comforting to her ears. It was like returning to a familiar place.

Weiss leapt out of the bullhead, launching off of a glyph and skewering the nearest Ursa in mere seconds. As she fell into the familiar ebbs and flows of combat, she barely noticed as the bullhead lifted back into the sky. When she took a moment to look around her, though, she realized that only a year ago, this had been where a train burst out of the ground, causing the event known as the Breach. She smiled, striking down a charging Beowulf. This was where she belonged. This was her calling, being a huntress. It was what she wanted to do.

* * *

"Sis, any ideas"? Yin called out as she ripped the head off of another Ursa major.

"A few, but most of them aren't exactly appealing." Rose yelled back, frowning as she fired at a nearby Grimm. She wasn't really aiming at this point, with the amount of oncoming Grimm; she could have fired a single bullet in any direction and probably hit 3 given how dense the deluge was.

"Any that doesn't involve us dying horrifically?" Yang shouted as she ducked under the claw of an Ursa that had almost snuck up behind her by virtue of another Ursa distracting her at the time.

"Maybe one or two." Rose replied, using her semblance to temporarily increase the distance between herself and the nearby Ursa so she could fire off a few shots at a Nevermore that was smart enough to stay out of range of melee weapons .

"Maybe?" Weiss shouted slightly frantically, finishing off the now downed Nevermore as she did so. She was positive her team leader could have come up with a dozen plans; maybe this Rose wasn't as smart as her partner, or maybe this Rose's plans were less "That idea sounds cool" and more "That idea won't almost certainly get me killed".

Weiss sincerely hoped that the latter was the case. With her earlier assessment, that landing further from the dragon would keep them from being overwhelmed, she had been wrong, so very wrong. Being the owners of the only auras for what had to be hundreds of miles was probably a contributing factor.

The Grimm had come in waves, mostly hordes of Beowolves, but also containing Ursa and the occasional Gryphon or juvenile Nevermore. None of them on their own were exceptionally dangerous, but each wave contained several hundred Grimm, and there wasn't much time in between them either. After the fourth wave they had moved less than three blocks from their landing zone.

Finally, they had pushed up a building instead, believing hopping building to building would be more efficient than killing most of the Grimm on the street, and while that was true, it had the unpleasant side-effect of attracting more aerial Grimm, and a wave of Gryphon's and juvenile Nevermore had taken up precious time. After defeating the somewhat small wave of aerial Grimm, they were able to push forward getting tantalizingly close to the tower, but eventually, the buildings became further apart, and they were forced to return to the ground to continue their journey.

Now, after several hours of fighting, they were in front of the CCT tower, which was good, but were being rushed by yet another, slightly larger wave of Grimm, which anyone with half a brain cell could tell, was… not so good.

Yang and Yin were running low on ammunition, and Rose was reluctant to use her own lest they need it for the return trip. Weiss was in less of a precarious state with the amount of dust she still had, but she was also beginning to run out of both aura and stamina, and it showed. Her sword arm was drooping ever so slightly, wobbling along with her heavy breathing. Weiss inwardly cursed at the physical degradation of her body over the past few months. Her usual fighting style relied on using her glyphs, and while she could fight without them, it was much more difficult. She had intended to resolve that issue after the Vytal festival had made the flaw more apparent than she had expected. But events had made that impossible. Even then, it normally wouldn't have been an issue, but in such a prolonged fight, where her aura was being drained by not only getting hit, but also by the use of said glyphs, the flaw in her style became increasingly concerning.

Rose was well aware of their current situation and finally made a decision. "Yin, pass me the bag!" she shouted. Yin bolted forward, punting away any Grimm near the bag before grabbing it and flinging it toward Rose.

"Rose! What are you doing?" Weiss asked, an uncomfortable warning whirring in her mind.

Rose didn't respond, folding Crescent Rose and dodging an Ursa's strike. Weiss fired a burst of Ice Dust, freezing said Ursa. She watched as Rose grabbed the bag and yanked open the zipper. She grabbed the object inside; of similar shape to the folded form of Crescent Rose, but more circular.

"Weiss, Yang, Cover me!" Rose shouted. Yang appeared behind her, bouncing on her feet like a boxer. Weiss stood at her side, parrying a blow from a Beowulf before removing its head from its shoulders.

"I need a minute!" Rose said.

"A minute? What kind of weapon needs a minute to prepare?" Weiss shrieked.

"The heavy kind!" Yin said from several feet away, pouncing upon a small group of Beowolves that had separated themselves and tearing them apart.

The fight continued as Weiss heard a whirring sound coming from the weapon. She watched as a bar extended from the weapon, the curved sections shaping into a double headed axe. The two axe heads folded into one. Rose held out a hand where a grip rose from the weapon.

"Weiss, give me a 1 foot wide, 5 foot tall earth barrier 30 feet out from us". She said quickly, indicating with her hand that she wanted them to be completely surrounded before grabbing onto the grip of her weapon. Weiss, not understanding the reason for the order, decided it would probably be better to follow it anyway and did so before watching Yin decimate all of the Grimm in the circle.

"That looks incredibly top heavy." Weiss observed quietly, wondering exactly what was going on. Rose had gone to immense trouble to reclaim that weapon. It must have been important.

The weapon now appeared to be somewhat similar to Crescent Rose's sniper form. Albeit with a large axe blade below the gun barrel. Rose grinned. "Hit the deck!" was the only warning given before she fired the weapon a second later.

Weiss waited a few moments before she heard a distant rumble. "Keep you eyes closed! Cover your ears!" She heard Yin shout. She followed Yin's orders, releasing her grip on Myrtenaster, after driving the blade into the ground, to do so.

She heard a sharp whistle fading off into the distance before an eardrum bursting explosion went off. The earth shook below her as the roar was followed by a massive shockwave. She could hear the muffled shattering of glass and the crinkle as it struck the ground. What seemed like minutes, but was probably mere moments later, she felt a tap on her leg from a boot.

She opened her eyes to look at a grinning Rose.

"Rose? What did you do?" Weiss asked warily as she began to stand.

"That." Rose's said calmly, pointing at what seemed to be a barren wasteland.

Weiss looked on with shock, at where a horde of Grimm once stood, there now lay naught but rubble. A mushroom cloud only beginning to dissipate in the distance.

"Damn Rose, you know you probably just caused hundreds of millions of lien in property damage?" Yang asked.

Rose shrugged. Lien didn't really mean all that much to her.

"Was that a dust bomb?" Weiss wondered, debating whether calling Rose a dunce was worth the risk of that.

"Enhanced High impact explosives. I still have the Dust bomb in the bag." She said, nonchalantly.

"You didn't arm that explosive." Weiss observed.

"It was already armed." She replied. Weiss spun around to look at Rose with horror as Yang took a step back.

"What? Best to always be prepared." Yin argued, defending her sister's choice.

"If the dust bomb is armed please disarm it now." Yang pleaded fear in her eyes. Even Yang knew that that enhanced explosive probably would have been designated a WMD, even if one considerably less powerful than a dust bomb.

Rose turned, appearing somewhat offended, Weiss resisted the instinct to jump for cover. "That's not kept armed." Rose said hotly "What do you take me for, an _irresponsible_ weapons nut?"

* * *

Blake was sitting on the ground outside her tent, excitedly looking at the Tuna cooking on a stick in front of her. It would be cooked to absolute perfection, Blake made sure of it. She had worked out the equations in her head herself. She turned the stick every 24 seconds, allowing both sides of the fish to cook evenly and not get overcooked.

"Only another minute." She whispered to herself, faintly smiling with anticipation. There were several advantages to chasing after the White Fang alone. She could go at her own pace, use her own methods, and not have to worry about getting her friends killed.

Friends.

"Yang would love this." Blake thought, any excitement for her meal disappeared. She curled up; bringing her knees to her chest and resting her head on them. The Blonde could be loud, noisy and dense, but she also cared deeply about her friends. Blake didn't dare try to imagine Yang's reaction to her leaving. Her partner must have been heartbroken.

"Ex-partner." Blake reminded her. "You left, you abandoned her. It might have been to keep her safe, to keep Adam away from her, but that doesn't change what you did."

It played in Blake's head almost every night while she slept. Watching Adam and Yang fight, although the word fight did not really describe what happened all that well. She watched as Yang charged, enraged at the destruction and suffering Adam had brought with him. Adam, cold and impassive, sliced off Yang's arm. The girl tumbling to the ground, unconscious from the shock.

Blake had left soon after, knowing that doing such would hurt Yang, but the thought of Adam coming to finish the job… Blake couldn't risk it. If Ruby, Weiss and Yang had taught her one thing (and they had taught her a multitude of things) It's to always have hope, and for Blake, she didn't know if she could do that if her teammates, her best friends, her family died in front of her.

The crackling of fire caused Blake to come out of her thoughts before cursing and hastily turning the Tuna over. It was too late though, perfection was now unachievable.

Blake moaned, sinking deeper into depression. "Well, at least I still have food." She mumbled weakly, trying to stay bright.

A flash of light in the distance alerted Blake to something going on, She turned her head in time to see a giant mushroom cloud of smoke rising over Vale. The rumbling of the explosion echoing even at her campsite, several days from the city.

The shockwave came next, hitting Blake with unexpected force. Putting out her fire, blowing her tent down and knocking her off balance. She dug her foot into the ground, using it to stay standing. Raising her arm to shield her head.

Almost as quickly as it came, the shock wave vanished. Blake slowly lowered her arm to see what devastation had happened.

She looked at the dissipating mushroom cloud. "I wonder what happened."

She muttered, glancing around watching the ruins of her campsite. The boxes of supplies were mostly unharmed, but her tent had collapsed and her fire was extinguished.

She shrugged, knowing it wouldn't take long to rebuild the tent.

"At least I still have dinner." She said, raising the stick her meal was on.

There was no fish.

"Oh come on." She said to nobody in particular. Her shoulders slumping as she eyed the ruined remains of her meal, splattered on a nearby tree. She let out a sigh and marched over to her box of supplies.

"Canned food it is. Again." She muttered as she pulled out a can of baked beans. She had never missed Beacon's cooking as much as she did now. And that just made everything worse.

* * *

A/N: I feel bad for Blake, at least she got some screen time. Also a huge shout out to Hirshja for getting this betaed so quickly, even as made work for him than usual. Definitely check out the new RWBY episode if you haven't. Awesome fight scene!

B/N: Alright, so we finally got to see what the heck that "little friend" of Rose's does, and let me tell you, I am impressed. I was actually left in the dark on this one too. Not that I asked. I know I literally just said last chapter that I suck at fleshing stuff out that's already written, but that's not completely true. I'm actually quite good at it, it just takes me an obscene amount of time, because everything has to be perfect. I spent quite a bit of time adding lines and fleshing out this chapter, and then rewriting my added lines before deleting them and replacing them all toge- you get the point. Anywho, I'm just happy that I'll have a break from school so that when I'm on break I can spend as much time as needed doing stuff with the early chapters. See y'all next time.

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	28. Raiders of the CCT

I Don't Own RWBY

Beta: Hirshja

* * *

Chapter 28:

Raiders of the CCT

* * *

Rose was pouting, admittedly, she looked more annoyed than like she was pouting. Her cheeks were not puffed up, her fists were not clenched, and she looked straight ahead. Her arms crossed in front of her chest. To Weiss and Yang, it likely looked like she was fully concentrating on the beast in front of them.

Yin however, knew from the steely gaze that she was displeased, and displeased immediately meant she was pouting over something.

"That dragon Grimm isn't going to get in our way is it?" Rose asked calmly. "When Ironwood mentioned that there was a Wyvern here, I didn't think that he meant that it was literally on the top of the tower."

Observing the beast from afar, they could see that it wrapped itself around the CCT tower, the Grimm that once approached it now avoided the group of huntresses and goddesses, possibly realizing from the smoking corpses of Grimm that the only thing that lay near them was death. Having leveled a decent chunk of the city probably helped reinforce that idea.

"At least we aren't being harassed by Grimm." Yin pointed out, wondering what kind of Grimm they were looking at. She hadn't seen anything like it; it was similar to a dragon, but not quite the same.

"That won't last long," Weiss replied, approaching the pair, her sword at her side. "Like the general said, Wyvern's are known for attracting Grimm. They can even create them, depending on the environment."

"Wow, you studied a lot." Yang joked from behind them, kicking some rubble as she waited for them to decide on their next course of action. Correctly guessing that Weiss wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't.

Weiss shrugged. "I had the free time. I might as well look into exactly what was causing Beacon such trouble."

"Trouble is an understatement." Yang replied.

Weiss rolled her eyes, turning to Rose. "Nevertheless, It has been inactive since the Fall of Beacon. According to reports, the blinding light from Beacon stopped it from moving."

"What kind of light?" Rose asked.

"The silver eyed power." Yang said pointing at the dragon. "I heard uncle Qrow talk about a power Rose has, supposedly it froze the Grimm."

Rose and Yin looked at each other, before Rose slowly turned to Yang.

"Explain. I don't have any such power."

Yang looked surprised, "Huh? I thought you and Rubes were almost exactly the same."

Rose shrugged. "I suppose not. Now what do you know of this power?"

"Just that it froze the Grimm. There are a ton of myths on it though."

Rose nodded. "We'll have to look into it later." She said authoritatively as she drew Crescent Rose. "As for this Wyvern, we'll avoid it."

"I think we should kill it." Weiss said quickly, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Rose, and a surprised look from Yin. The fact that Yin had been thinking the same thing did not pass through her lips, but it was noted nonetheless.

"It continues to attract Grimm, this is our best chance to kill it, and killing it will allow Beacon to be reopened allowing more Huntsmen to be trained."

"I agree with Weiss, this is our best shot at killing this thing, we just wiped tons of Grimm out, there's no reason to ignore the Wyvern, killing it now is our best bet."

The look on Rose's face was one of deep thought. "Killing the Wyvern has nothing to do with our mission, it could also destroy the CCT tower, making it impossible to retrieve the data that Ironwood requested and anything we may find on where Blake is. It could also attract more Grimm making our job even harder."

"If we miss out on the data, we can always still find Blake!" Yang argued. "Ironwood told us she was after the White Fang headquarters in Vale. Find that and we find Blake!"

"I agree with them sis." Yin chimed in.

Rose regarded her levelly. "Why?"

"Because as you've apparently forgotten, part of the deal was to clear the Grimm so that Beacon could reopen its doors." She replied with a smirk on her face, relishing the fact that her sister had forgotten part of the mission in her shock at the Wyverns positioning. "And it's the right thing to do." She added as an afterthought.

Rose gritted her teeth, before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, We grab the data first, then kill the Wyvern. Fair enough?"

The others nodded, Weiss and the others smiling to various degrees. Rose turned to look at the now ruined entrance to the tower. "Let's go." She said, walking forward. Weiss and Yang followed, with Yin taking up the rear; her eyes flicking back to the Wyvern every few seconds. A feeling of dread pooled in the bottom of her stomach. She didn't know what, but something bad was going to happen. She cocked Ember Celica, garnering a quick glance from the others before they turned back towards the tower.

The tower was in ruins. The once marble floored, high ceilinged first level was destroyed. Windows were smashed, tiles broken, the ceiling had several holes, and everything of value had been stripped.

"Can we even get any data? There doesn't seem to be a computer." Yang asked.

"The servers will have been to heavy to move. I presume that is where we will want to get the data from." Weiss explained, scanning the floor. A slight grimace showed what she thought of what had happened to the marvel of Atlas engineering.

"So where are the servers?" Yin asked. She was met with silence as the group glanced at each other, each looking for the other to answer. Eventually all eyes rested on Rose.

"Rose, Ironwood gave you the mission. You do know right?"

"No." Rose said, watching as Weiss face slowly started to redden. "We'll split into two groups one goes underground the other goes upwards, places like these always have stuff underground." She added quickly, knowing exactly how to defuse an angry Weiss.

"You dolt! You came here without a plan?"

Or maybe not. Yin put her hand on Weiss shoulder. "Yang and I will take the upper floors, you guys go underground." She said loud enough for everyone to hear. Then she leaned in before adding in a quiet voice "And don't get up to anything in the dark."

Weiss looked scandalized while Rose looked away, struggling to hide a blush. Yin grinned at the reaction. Ignoring the flurry of insults that left Weiss's mouth about such a "scandalous implication". Drawing Weiss's anger off Rose had been something she learned to do a long time ago, she was glad it still worked.

She nudged Yang, who was on edge, causing the younger girl to nearly jump out of her skin. She whirled around, cocking Ember Celica, before halting. "What the hell was that for?" She gasped.

Yin chuckled in response. "You were on edge. Relax, worst comes to worst, we run and fight another day". She crossed her arms and cocked her head as she watched Yang's heavy breathing lighten. With one arm wrapped around Yang, Yin gently guided her to the stairwell heading up while Rose and Weiss headed down the already rusting service stairs.

"I thought they built these things better than this." Weiss cursed as she tried to dodge a rusted step.

"Yeah, so much for Atlas's engineering prowess. I wonder if it was intentional." Rose muttered, moving slowly for Weiss's benefit, she would have simply skipped the stairs if she thought the heiress would have been fine with a three hundred foot drop.

"Why would such shoddy engineering be intentional?" Weiss asked, her voice somewhere between anger and surprise.

"There is bad engineering and then there is bad engineering. The building is structurally sound, and with constant maintenance this staircase was probably fine."

"Meaning that in case the CCT tower ever fell, Atlas wouldn't want easy access to the servers."

Rose nodded "It explains why it is so deep. A treasure hunter or a scavenger wouldn't be able to reach it easily, there's also probably plenty of security when we get down there."

"Well, at least the shame of bad engineering doesn't besmirch Atlas's good name." Weiss said weakly, hardly believing it herself.

Rose continued downward, rolling her eyes at Weiss. A pang of hurt struck her heart as she thought of how similar this banter was. It didn't have any of the inside jokes, none of the self-deprecating humor, but it was painfully familiar nonetheless.

Rose was warned by a creak that sounded more like a crack. It took her mere seconds to turn and locate the weakness in the staircase. She leapt forward, grabbing hold of Weiss as the staircase gave way above them.

Suddenly Rose could feel herself falling, plummeting toward the steel flooring below.

"Shit." She grit her teeth, her options running through her head. Alone she would have used Crescent Rose to stop her fall, but for that she would have needed both arms, and currently they were wrapped around Weiss. She could have bounced off the walls, but the force needed for that might have injured the heiress, lastly she could take the impact, probably breaking several bones in the process.

She had no time to really decide, she shut her eyes and prepared for impact.

She slammed into something, it was as if she had hit cement, it hurt like hell, but she felt herself bounce off it, her descent slowed. She bounced off several others ignoring the sharp pain in her shoulder. Her final descent was more like rolling off a bed and onto the floor, the bed would have been made of wood, but it certainly wasn't hitting steel at terminal velocity.

She rolled on the floor, Weiss still held in her arms. Her head swam since the strikes had been especially jarring. She felt Weiss struggling, and for a moment thought she might be holding the heiress too tightly. Panic shot through her as she imagined crushing the heiress, this wasn't Vytal Weiss, and she wouldn't be as strong, her aura less potent.

Weiss, however, sprang from her grasp quickly. Rose's vision was blurry as she saw the heiress stand, hands on her hips. The sounds the heiress was saying slowly began to make sense, clearing as her vision did.

" -Could have gotten us killed! Imagine if I hadn't been able to cast glyphs! Thank Dust I still had one hand free!"

"Weiss," Rose moaned, "Please shut up."

Weiss's mouth clicked shut, her eyes widening.

Rose pushed herself up, grunting as she pushed herself through the pain coursing from her right shoulder. She tapped it gently, squinting in pain as she did.

"What happened?" Weiss asked worriedly.

"Just a dislocated arm, I'll shove it back in place and we can be on our way."

"You dolt! That needs actual attention! If we have to fight that dragon, you could be killed!" Weiss yelled, anger flaring in her eyes.

"Pshaw." Rose said rolling her eyes as she waved Weiss's concerns away with a smile. She grasped her arm and pulled fiercely, the arm being set with a pop that made Weiss cringe.

Rose rotated the arm, it hurt like hell, but hopefully her aura would heal it quickly. "On second thought, why didn't my aura heal it automatically?" Rose wondered, thinking back on the multiple times she had broken bones, dislocated joints and torn tendons. Her aura had healed those injuries in seconds or minutes. A dislocated arm shouldn't take all that long, certainly not as long as it took for her to discover and reset it.

She made a note to talk to Yin about it, maybe she had noticed something similar.

"You're acting exactly like Rose, you do something dangerous and then pretend it's no big deal." Weiss said, crossing her arms, not noticing the look that appeared on Rose's face, it was gone a moment later.

Rose snorted. "Probably, we are more or less the same person after all. "

"Are you?" Weiss asked, one of her eyebrows raised skeptically.

"Don't we have data to collect? And a dragon to kill?" Rose said trying to change the subject.

"We have time. Don't try to change the subject. I know you are Rose Rose, Goddess of Vytal, but you have gone through much more than my partner has. Arguing you are the same person is like saying Yin and Yang are the same."

"Are you talking about the people or the concept?"

"What concept?"

This time Rose looked on dumbly. "Never mind." She said. "We can talk about it, but not right now."

"To quote Rose, nope." Weiss said, stomping her foot.

"Weiss…"

"No! You've given pieces of info, but only the bare minimum. Rose, your partner died on you and you pretend you're over it. I know that look well enough, something is tearing you apart!" Weiss dramatically pointing at her partner's double as she demanded that Rose tell her her feelings.

It was a look she did know well. She had seen it on her sister's face when their father locked Weiss in her room, sealed her aura and demanded Winter guard her. She had seen it on her own face, when she didn't stand up to her father after leaving for Beacon.

Now she saw it on Rose's face, a look somewhere between hoping for a miracle, and knowing that no matter what you've lost.

Rose looked at her calmly, her face impassive. Weiss glared at her, willing the woman to talk.

Her concentration was broken by Rose's face changing to one of surprise and something falling behind her. She turned to see a rabbit faunus in a White Fang uniform, mask raised above her eyes, revealing her childish face. She was young, no older than fifteen. She had dropped a box full of gadgetry.

It did not take long for Weiss to realize what the White Fang member was carrying, but the shock lasted long enough for the Terrorist to run, sprinting back the way she came.

"Damn." Weiss, muttered. Rose grunted in agreement before chasing after the Faunus in a burst of rose petals. In moments she was upon the faunus girl, grabbing her by the back of the neck and slamming her into the ground. A gargled gasp of pain being the only sound she uttered.

Weiss chased the two, arriving moments later. She hesitated upon seeing the gleam in Rose's eyes.

Rose pulled the woman up and tossed her into the nearby wall. A whimper slipped through the faunus' mouth as she slid down the wall, gasping for breath. Before trying to slide away as Rose knelt near her.

"You are going to tell us exactly what the White Fang want with the data."

* * *

A/N: This is the penultimate chapter before the hiatus, Hirshja has started working on the early chapters as well as an early draft of the next arc. So he has a host of things on his plate. So everyone please give a round of applause to this story's lovely beta!

on Christmas Eve a new story will come out on my author's page, get ready for some insanity!

Also check out Grim Cookies, my entry for the December MonCon on Reddit.


	29. Breaking into a Wyvern's home is a bad idea...

Beta: Hirshja

I do not own RWBY

Chapter 29: Breaking into a Wyvern's home is a BAD idea

* * *

Yin and Yang paced upon the top floor of the tower, or at least what was left of it. Yin assumed there had originally been higher floors, but the Grimm just below them had probably destroyed those floors when it arrived at Beacon.

"So this is where it happened." Yang muttered, glancing at her metal arm before surveying the rubble.

"Huh?" Yin asked, blanking on what event Yang was alluding to.

"This is where Pyrrha died." Yang supplied. Her breath catching at the end of the sentence.

Yin looked at Yang, watching as the girl tensed up. She didn't really know what to say. Pyrrha was still alive in Vytal. She certainly hadn't helped when dealing with Blake.

"I used to think everything would turn out okay, that even when things got bad they'd get better." Yang began. Yin walked over, her heart going out to the younger girl, and while now certainly wasn't the time for it, she was getting ready to comfort her counterpart.

"Now I know they won't. What if things are just as bad in Mistral? What if Ruby…"

"What if she dies?" Yang finished with a whisper, the dread thick in her voice. It was her most central fear, one that Yin knew they shared; she thought the same about her sister. Yin clapped a hand on Yang's shoulder. She forced a grin on her face as Yang turned her head to look.

"She won't die, there's no way she'll die." Yin said, more confidence in her voice than she actually felt.

Yin's attempt at comforting Yang was cut short; a deep rumble shook the building.

"What was that?" Yang asked.

Yin shrugged. "Dunno, but we shouldn't be up here."

A blood-curdling howl ripped through the air, driving Yin and Yang to their knees, hands covering their ears. Yin looked up, swearing as she did so. Yang followed Yin's line of sight and her eyes widened in horror as she saw one of the Wyvern's wings start to move.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ruby hung the rabbit faunus up by her throat, her grip loose enough to leave the woman just barely able to breathe, while her legs scrabbled against the wall.

"Now in a few moments I am going to let go. When I do, you will tell us what you are doing down here and where your allies are. If you do not, this will get… unpleasant. Are we clear?"

The woman nodded frantically, her mask falling from her face as she did so. She looked somewhat similar to Velvet, her big brown eyes looking at the goddess with a look of complete fear.

Weiss looked on in surprise and horror. She could never imagine Ruby doing what Rose was currently doing. Threatening someone to elicit information? Maybe if Ruby was angry and her friends were in trouble, but she would never go this far, never threaten someone's life.

Ruby released her grip on the woman who tumbled down, gasping for air as she did so. She rubbed her neck before looking up at Ruby. The look Ruby gave her made it clear there was no room for negotiation, and lies would cause more pain than she could possibly imagine.

"We're here gathering supplies, weaponry and such. The lieutenant is in the Beacon Armory, I and two others were tasked with gathering Data from the CCT and see if we could plant a bug to track future communication. That's all I know."

Ruby looked down at the woman one eyebrow raised, her arms crossed. "That's all you know?" She asked skeptically. A fierce nod from the Faunus caused her to smile.

"Well then, this shouldn't be a problem." She said, before unleashing a fierce roundhouse to the side of the woman's head, she tumbled to the side like a sack of bricks, before laying still.

"Rose! What was that for?" Weiss exclaimed. Rose turned to stare at Weiss with a watchful eye.

"Never turn your back to a conscious enemy, it's a lesson I learned well." She replied, before turning and walking off, hoisting her bag over her shoulder.

Weiss looked on. "What if you had killed her?" She muttered before following.

It wasn't long before they got to the server room, supercomputers stacked from wall to ceiling. A generator in one corner indicated that the servers were still running.

The two Fangs had been quickly dealt with. Two elbow strikes and another roundhouse kick had sent both to the floor with minimal effort. Weiss had numbly walked in, somewhat surprised by Rose's lack of restraint.

"Were you always like this?" Weiss asked, as Rose pulled out a drive and plugged it into a port, a flashing green light on the drive indicating that the device was receiving data.

"Like what?" Rose asked, giving Weiss a sidelong glance.

"This ruthless. The Ruby Rose from Beacon would have never threatened to kill someone for information, and she would have held back when knocking someone out."

Rose crossed her arms, leaning against the computer case behind her. "Who said I didn't hold back?"

"The whipping of that poor woman's neck that might have broken from such force does."

"Poor woman?" Rose asked, something in her tone warning Weiss she had just stepped on a landmine.

"She might have been a terrorist, but as Blake said, The White Fang is misguided. The White Fang leadership is pure evil, but the grunts," she waved to the two unconscious on the floor "Are angry and don't know how to be heard. They're lashing out."

Rose seemed to relax slightly, her anger subsiding. She scratched her head. "If it makes you feel better I did hold back. The White Fang from Vytal was a little less benign than The White Fang here."

"I'd hardly call a terrorist organization benign."

"Yeah, well, let's say my grudge with The White Fang is intensely personal, and leave it at that."

"This isn't the end of this conversation." Weiss replied, hoping that Rose was more or less back in control of her emotions.

"Yeah Weiss, actually it is." Rose replied in a voice that hinted at the anger bubbling beneath the surface.

A beeping from the drive broke the tension somewhat. "Well, that's our job done, time to hunt some white fang." Rose muttered, pulling out the drive and striding towards the door.

Weiss followed, brooding over what Rose had said.

It seems that I will have to talk with Yin later. She thought, wondering if The White Fang and her Vytal counterpart's death were somehow connected.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We should go up! There's nothing dangerous up there, what could go wrong?" Yang shouted as the building started to crumble around them, the beating of the Wyvern's wings shaking the structure to its foundations.

Yin and Yang were dashing down the stairs, leaping down sections that were starting to crumble, and avoiding falling debris. Doing this all at the same time wasn't easy, but it could have been worse.

"There's the exit!" Yin shouted. Slowing down slightly so that Yang could catch up.

"Where?" Yang asked, they were still on what had to be the thirtieth floor, there wasn't even a landing pad let alone an exit.

The streak of a Wyvern's wing coming towards them was all that Yang saw.

"Right here!" Yin shouted as she slammed into Yang, taking them both out of a window. The shattering of glass didn't hurt; her aura would have blocked it. Yang was staring up at the sky as the duo fell towards the earth. She watched as if in slow motion the Wyvern's wing broke through a section of the tower. The rest of it buckling as the remaining structure couldn't handle the weight. She watched, as the tower seemed to bend before the upper floors gave way, allowing more and more of the structure to collapse in on itself. She heard no sound as the Wyvern took to the sky.

The jolt of suddenly stopping made Yang's vision swim. Her spikes of pain emanated from her ankle. Yin gently lowered her to the ground.

"Sorry about that." She said with a forced grin.

"That hurt Yin, warn me next time." Yang replied, gently touching her ankle to see if anything was damaged. Aura was causing the pain to rapidly fade, but there would be no sense in risking further injury.

"Wyvern you like it or not at least you're still alive." Yin said.

Yang stared at her. Yin grinned.

"Yin, that was bad. This is me saying it was bad."

"You loved it."

"Yeah, just as much as I loved you pulling us from the collap-" Yang froze, whipping her head to the building. The pain was forgotten as she stood. "Weiss!"

Yin grabbed her arm as Yang uselessly tried to push her away. "I gotta help her! She could be injured!" Or worse Yang thought, knowing it wasn't helping at all.

A roar was heard from the air. "You have to be joking." Yin said, a hint of frustration in her voice. Yang turned in time to see the Wyvern land behind Yin.

"This day just keeps getting worse!" She shouted, cocking Ember Celica.

The Wyvern responded with a howl, rows of sharp teeth dripping with saliva, its eyes glowed with hate. Then it charged.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ruby and Weiss stared at the rubble now blocking their path. Ruby stood, her hands on her hips as she scanned the surrounding area examining it to see if the hallway was still structurally sound.

"How are we going to get up? We can't dig our way through that!" Weiss said, holding her hands out towards the rubble. "First the stairwell breaks and now this! We're trapped!"

Ruby shrugged. "I have an idea."

Weiss spun on her heel and pointed a finger at her. "Rose, we are not using that Dust bomb, it might bust a hole in the rubble, but it would kill us too."

"Not what I was going to propose." Ruby said, beginning to stretch her arms.

"Then what were you going to propose?" Weiss asked, her curiosity piqued.

Ruby reached into her bag and pulled out a cylindrical object. It looked like a shotgun shell, but had rounded edges and was a single solid red color.

"This is technically ammo for Crimson, but it should be useful here."

"Is that another bomb?" Weiss asked warily. Slowing backing away from the object in Ruby's hand.

Ruby grinned "Why yes Weiss, how astute of you to recognize a bomb that can send out a shockwave that turns bones to jelly."

Weiss blanched.

"Just kidding." Ruby said, ignoring an outraged "Hey!" form Weiss. She placed the device on the ground. "Emergency beacon, command: Activate. Password…" She took a deep breath "Taiyang Xiao-Long Zero-Zero-sixteen"

Almost immediately the seamless device opened and a small light in the center flashed green. The dimly lit hallway soon glowed a similar color.

Ruby walked quietly to the wall rested her back on it and slid down into a sitting position, one knee cradled to her chest. "I suggest we sit, we'll be here until Yin and Yang have killed that Wyvern."

Weiss stood still. "The Wyvern is awake?" She whispered, as if she couldn't believe it.

"Don't worry about Yang, Yin has killed far larger things than that oversized turkey."

Weiss sat, in the dim glow Ruby almost imagined the girl was pouting, it was adorable.

"A Wyvern is not a turkey, it's a dra-"

"A dragon. I know. It has claws and teeth and looks very dangerous."

"You know a lot about them." Weiss said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Actually, Weiss knew a lot about them. They were a little different from the Wyvern that was on top of the tower, but the difference shouldn't be considerable enough that Yin can't handle it."

Weiss sat, "Do you want to talk about her?"

Ruby's answer was sharp. "No. Not with you."

Weiss couldn't be sure, but in the dim light, it looked as if Rose had started to cry.

* * *

A/N. And this is the last chapter of the year! It was a fun chapter to write. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave your comments in the reviews.

There was a review I wasn't able to reply to for some reason so I'll answer the question here. "Rose" and "Ruby" have been used interchangeably for God Ruby, depending on from whose point of view the actually commentary is coming from. as for if Remnant Ruby and God Ruby are related, technically they are the same person, one just happens to be much older and considerably more powerful, there are a few subtle differences mostly because of life experiences, some of which I have tried to hint at, others that will be revealed later on.

For January we will be working on older chapters, cleaning them up and making them easier to read some things might be added so look out for those. If you need more, I have some other stories up, including Grimm Cookies; a short piece with Salem and Cinder. As well as the RWBY meets World AU, with a recently released Christmas special!

So, have a merry Christmas, happy New Year and a great January! I'll be working on future chapters, revising old ones and prepping for the next arc!

Now to write an awesome fight against the wyvern...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in chapters at least you get a ton of them. I just got a new computer and am still working on getting it up and running.   
> So some bad news followed by some more bad news. 
> 
> Bad News 1: The story will be on hiatus for January, originally it was planned as time for Hirshja and I to work on old chapters. That is not going to happen because of Bad news #2: Hirshja has had to stop beta-ing for the story. He has a lot on his plate and understandably wants to deal with real life stuff that is coming up. So now, the hiatus has become a planning and getting ahead chapter wise break. It'll end the first Monday of February, but realistically, the story will be updated on Fanfiction first, and then here. In the meantime, I am on the hunt for a Beta, if anyone has advice of how to go about this efficiently, or if anyone wants to be a Beta please get in touch or leave something in the comments.
> 
> I hope everyone had some very happy Holidays. Until next time.
> 
> Deamon_Hunter


	30. Little Dragons

I do not own RWBY

Ragnarok 30

Little Dragons

* * *

Yang punched another Ursa in the face, which quickly blew apart as it met a round of buckshot. The husk crumpled to the ground, black mist emanating from the ruins of its face.

Yang took a few moments to find Yin, watching as the burst of blonde hair whipped between several Ursas at a speed she would have never imagined possible without a speed based semblance.

Yin's fighting style was different from Yang's. The crushing blows from her fists were still there. But combined with it were elbow strikes, knee strikes and the occasional kick. Yang watched in awe as the goddess destroyed any opposition. Before she vanished in a blur.

"Get your head in the game yang!" She shouted, firing a round from ember Celica. The round whipped past Yang, striking an ursa in the eye. The beast screeched in pain before tumbling onto its side clawing feebly at the air as its life slowly drained from its body.

In a flash, Yin was beside her, grabbing her shoulder.

'What the hell Yang? You could've been killed!" A hint of rage emanating from Yin's voice. Yang didn't respond, her mouth hung open dumbly.

Yin clapped her hands loudly, snapping Yang out of her stupor with a jump. "What? I'm sorry!" yang said.

"No time for that, We gotta catch that oversized turkey!" Yin said pointing at the wyvern currently circling above them.

The wyvern watched with cautious eyes, focusing on what was certain to be a deadly fight. Unlike many Grimm, it had lain physically dormant in Mountain Glenn for generations; it had used that time wisely, for while its body was trapped, its mind was not. It had thought on its failings and had learnt from them. It would not be so careless as to simply ignore these beings, instead it would strike, hard and fast, rending limb from limb and feasting on what remained, a testament to its dominance.

The wyvern swept down deciding the best way to kill the huntresses was quickly.

"It's charging us?" Yang shouted, in confusion as much as shock.

"Now this is what I like!" Yin said cheerfully. She looked down at ember Celica. "how much time do we have?"

'I dunno, ten seconds?"

"Eh, pretty close." Yins aid nonchalantly as she activated her semblance. The flames licked at her hair, radiating from her body as her eyes turned crimson. "I don't like doing this, but I'm kinda in a rush." She prepared herself, sliding a leg back.

"get outta her yang, get behind some cover."

Yang started to run, imagining exactly what was going to happen. She leaped behind some rubble, poking her head out.

"Don't set off a bomb!" She shouted before ducking back, glancing left and right in preparation for a potential attack from a Grimm.

Yin simply grinned as she saw the flames be sucked into ember Celica.

"Rubes' isn't the only one with an upgraded weapon."

 _Six seconds_ Yin thought. She heard a beep from ember Celica _"fifty percent charged."_ It intoned. She braced herself, pulling back her fist.

"Getting out of here is going to suck."

" _Seventy five percent charged."_

The wyvern hurtled closer, its maw opened prepared to swallow Yin whole.

" _Weapon charged."_ The voice intoned, Yin threw her fist forward a grin on her face as she imagined the remains of the Wyvern's face splattering everywhere.

The wyvern however, had other ideas. Something, perhaps base instinct told it not to ignore the danger. It hurtled itself to the side as Yin's fist flung forward, Striking the wyverns left wing.

Fiery pain lance dup the wing as it burst blood and bone spraying out over the battlefield. The remains of the wing fell away as the wyvern slammed into the ground, its other wing crumpling with a horrendous crack. It skidded, slamming through buildings and rubble.

As it came to a halt Yin frowned. The damn thing wasn't dead. Not yet at least. It had taken most of her aura, wrecked her robotic arm and drained her combat ability greatly and all she had gotten out of it was a lousy wing?

Yin walked over to the wyvern as Yang popped out form behind the rubble. The wyvern screeched at the approaching goddess as it scrabbled to get to its feet. But without its wings, its balance was shoddy at best. The beast rose before tumbling to the ground again.

Yang ran up beside Yin. "How the hell did you do that?" She wondered.

"I'll tell you later." Yin said. Stopping just out of reach of the wyvern. She glanced around; there were no Grimm to speak of. Those foolish enough to challenge them had been killed, while those old enough to know better had fled instead.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Yin asked, motioning towards the wyvern with her organic hand, her robotic one hanging limply at her side. If yang noticed it she didn't react, instead she grinned.

"Why thank you, yes I would." Yang replied cocking ember Celica and approaching the Grimm. The wyvern snarled at her, but made no move to resist.

She cocked back ember Celica. "this is for all the lives you ruined." She said coldly. The wyvern snarled, the glimmer in its eye telling Yang something was amiss.

"the tail!" Yin shouted leaping backwards as the wyvern's tail swung wide, aiming to strike yang, Yang leapt upwards, evading the tail as it struck naught but air. Yang reached the apex of her jump. She pulled back both her arms as she fell back toward the earth, positioning herself right above the wyverns head she landed on the beast.

'this is for Vale!" She shouted slamming both gauntlets downward.

The wyvern could only watching as the huntress brought it's death upon it. A pang of emotion passed through the wyvern. Was it regret? Regret at underestimating the strength of its foes? Or was it fear? The wyvern never had time to discover which it was.

The wyvern shrieked at it felt the buckshot penetrate its head. It thrashed, its tail flailing wildly before suddenly going limp. Yang leapt off the beast. She glanced back momentarily, the dark smoke like substance emanating from the Grimm satisfying her. She looked at Yin. "And that is how a huntress kills Grimm."

Yin smiled patting Yang on the head. "Yeah, yeah. Good job, now let's dig out Ruby and Weiss."

Ruby was still curled up, her knees to her chest, as a burst of sunlight broke through the rubble. Both she and Weiss turned to see a fist break through the rubble.

"Rubes! You there?" Yin's voice echoes through the chamber.

Ruby stood, a faint grin on her face. "We're here!" She shouted back.

"get back!" a voice shouted, likely Yang.

Both Weiss and Ruby stepped back, moments later the sound of gunshots echoed through the chamber as the rumble of crumbling stone began. Ruby watched as the small hole grew bigger, fists smashing through rubble. Soon enough. A head blocked through the hole, a wild mane of blonde hair framed a grinning face.

"You guys good?" Yang asked playfully.

Weiss smiled. "Took you long enough." She said, no venom in her voice. Yang thrust out a hand.

"C'mon Princess, get up here." Weiss quickly approached, grasping the hand that helped pull her out of her makeshift tomb. Ruby soon followed, grinning as she leapt through the hole. She landed just outside the hole. She glanced around, watching the ruins of the tower.

"It seems like this will be out of commission for awhile." Ruby commented.

"they'll have a substitute up soon, the CCT towers are too important to keep down for so long." Weiss replied. Ruby nodded.

"Hate to be that person, but, do you have the data?" Yin asked. Her hand in her pockets.

Ruby pulled out the disc, holding between her thumb and forefinger. "Yeah, we also got some interesting info on the White Fang."

Yang's eyes lit up. "What is it?"

"There's a group nearby, scrounging through an armory. Supposedly there's high ranking member." Weiss said quickly.

She glanced at Rose and Yin. "Rose, Yin, shall we go after them?"

"Of course!" Yang said, spreading her arms. "This is a shot at finding Blake."

Ruby nodded gently, a faintly wolfish smile on her face. "Let's go. Weiss, would you lead the way."

A shiver spiked down Weiss's spine. That smile disturbed her. "Let's go, Yang, will you take point with me?" She asked, pointedly looking at Yang.

Fortunately yang didn't ask any questions, simply nodding, a serious look on her face, before smiling, shaping her face into a cheerful mask.

"let's go a-hunting!" She cheered. Her choice of words garnering some groans from the others.

As the began, Weiss quickened her pace, gaining distance between Yang and her and the two goddesses.

"We need to talk after this is done." Weiss whispered.

"What about?" Yang whispered back.

"Rose, there is something seriously wrong with her."

Yang glanced back at Rose, quickly turning face forward as she saw the glare on Rose's face.

"Ok, let's talk after we beat the crap out of the Fang."

"the Fangs her or in general?"

" _someone's_ optimistic"

"I'll take that as the Fangs here." Weiss said, as she continued towards the armory.

"Banesaw" as the lieutenant was sometimes nicknamed, was loyal. The troops under him were loyal. They fought for the right order of things, Justice and equality. The Humans who kept them underfoot would be destroyed, punished as they should be. Faunus were the superior race, Humans were just jealous.

That is why this was necessary, that is why the destruction of beacon was necessary. Huntsmen were the main thing wall between them and the success of their revolution, weakening their greatest enemies was a top priority.

Now they had their weapons, their bullets. The equipment they needed to continue their revolution was in their hands. The success of their revolution in vale was at hand. It was so close the Lieutenant could taste it. He looked around at their camp, a few tables with radio gear, several canvas tents, and little else. It was barebones, but could therefore be abandoned quickly.

Another hour and He could march back to Adam, proclaim the mission completed and bask in praise. He would then lead the revolution into Vale itself, bringing the weakened kingdom to heel.

He was taken from his dreams of the future by the sound of gunshots.

He turned, frowning, Gunshots themselves would not have been a concern, likely simply some Grimm who had wandered too close to the operation. But earlier in the day, the explosion near the CCT Tower had put him on edge. It was nearby enough that they had had to take cover from the falling glass. The destructive power of the weapon made it appear to have been a military operation. When the wyvern had awakened, he had feared that it would attack the Fang. When it had vanished from the sky, he could only assume that there were Huntsmen in the city.

Now, he presumed they were targeting the Fang. Why, he did not know. But he didn't want to find out. . He was no fool, he knew that he could face a huntsmen-in-training, that Schnee had been proof enough of that. But if there were professional huntsmen, supported by soldiers, he doubted his chances.

He pulled the radio transceiver from his belt. "What is going on?" He demanded. The radio crackled to life.

"Four women! Huntresses! We can't hold them!" A panicked voice responded amongst screams. Banesaw snarled, These were some of the best fighters in the Fang, but after beacon, they were short on troops. He turned to a group of fangs pulling out crates of equipment.

"Tell the others we are leaving now, leave the rest." He ordered, anger seeping into his voice. Some of the fang stared at him dumbly, confused as to why. "Now!" He roared causing Fangs to scramble towards the armory. He pointed at another, dressed in pilot gear. "Get those bullheads running! I want them in the air in five minutes!"

As the people around him scrambled to complete his orders, Fangs running from the armory towards the bullheads, he calmly marched over towards his tent, he pulled out his chain sword, and activated it. He would not be caught unarmed, and if worse came to worse, he could at least delay the huntsmen while the rest escaped.

He saw a flurry of rose petals. But had no time to react as too feet slammed into his stomach. He tumbled backwards, his weapon tumbling to the side. He attempted to rise, only to feel a foot slam onto his chest, forcing him back to the ground. He stared up at a woman dressed in a red and black jacket. He silver eyes narrowed into a look that would terrify most people.

Around him he heard gunshots and screams as her compatriots defeated his subordinates. He glanced in the direction of their parked bullheads. His heart filled with hope as he saw one rise into the sky, only for it to sink as coiled of ice wrapped around the vehicle, trapping it in place.

The woman reached down and pulled of his mask, revealing his ruined face to the outside world once more.

"Now then, let me explain how this works." She began, collapsing her weapon and holstering it. "I have several questions. You will answer them to the best of your ability. Are we clear?" He snarled, pushing himself upwards only to be once again pushed back to the ground by Ruby's boot. She leaned forward. "Don't try to escape."

She stood her foot still on Banesaw's chest, turning away from him.

"Yin! Yang! We have their boss."

Yin approached casting glance in the direction of Weiss, who was still in the process of knocking the rest of the fangs out.

"Yeah sis?"

Ruby got off Banesaw and walked towards Weiss. "Make him squeal." She said. Yin frowned but cracked her knuckles. She approached Banesaw who felt all the strength drain from him. That woman with silver eyes was not to be trifled with.

Yin hoisted Banesaw by his collar, tossing him of her shoulder. Banesaw, saw the opportunity to strike back, but instead mad one move. His mind already told him the truth, he would not escape.

"Alright" She replied evenly. Ruby raised her hand in response as she approached Weiss. Yang approached yin glancing carefully at the fang she held.

"Your sis is scary."

"When she's like this? Yeah. Yeah she is." Yin turned to the man. "you'll tell us what we want to know." She said.

"You think I'll talk under torture?" He snarled. Yin smiled, pulling out her scroll and dialed a number.

"I don't do torture." Yin replied, as the scroll rang. The ringing soon ended, as someone answered.

'General James Ironwood's office, how may I help you?"

Banesaw paled considerably.

"Tell the general that Yin Xiao-Long called, he'll call me right back." She hung up, not even waiting for a response. Yang quirked her head, the voice that had answered was nasally, but also very familiar. Besides, when did Ironwood get a secretary? Yang held her tongue, waiting to see how things unfolded.

"you have until I answer his phone call, answer my questions and you all go free. Don't and I hand you over to the Atlas Military. Either way I'll get my answers."

"yin…" Yang began, but was silenced by a raised hand. Her scroll started to ring.

Yin glanced at her phone before smiling at Banesaw. 'It seems the general is quite prompt." She raised her other hand and wiggled her index finger. "Where is the White Fang Vale HQ?"

He grunted

'Sure you don't want to talk?"

Banesaw remained silent.

Yin shrugged "fair enough." She moved to dramatically answer the phone.

"Stop!" Banesaw shouted, breaking.

"Where is it?" Yin asked pocketing her phone.

"Give me a map…" He said weakly, his head rolling in defeat. "May Adam forgive my weakness."

Near the bullheads Ruby Rose, goddess of Vytal closed her scroll. She looked at a surprised Weiss. Ruby wondered what was so surprising, but that was for another day. "That Weiss, is how you interrogate someone when you are short on time."

'threaten to torture them?" She asked, a hint of disdain in her eyes.

Rose shook her head. "No Weiss, never say what you are going to do, let your enemy's creativity do that work for you."

"How in the world did you learn that?"

"You taught me that."

"I did?"

Ruby nodded. "Now time to get going, we need to get to their HQ and find Blake."

"We, as in you, me, Yin and Yang are going to raid the regional headquarters of an international terrorist organization. An organization that was a major force in the Fall of Beacon. An organization led by Adam Taurus, who cut off Yang's arm and terrified Blake, and we are going to do it alone?" Weiss deadpanned.

Ruby chuckled as she turned and began to almost skip away. "Weiss, where would be the fun in asking for help?"

"Just double checking." Weiss said rolling her eyes. Clearly, talking with Yang would have to wait.

* * *

And we're back! Well, sort of.

I'm currently down with the flu, so that could delay the next chapter somewhat (but not by much, probably a few days at the most). with any luck, it'll be up by Monday.

Thanks! Until next time!

DeamonHunter


	31. Trespassing isn't a crime if it's a terrorist HQ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ragnarok 31: Trespassing isn't a crime if it's a terrorist HQ
> 
> I do not own RWBY

 

* * *

Weiss looked out the window of the Bullhead. The dense forest blocked her view of the ground, the wooden limbs of the tree shielding the White Fang base below them from view.

"Wouldn't they know we're here?" Weiss asked quickly.

Ruby nodded. "Probably but I think that is a good enough disguise." She said thumbing the white fang logo on the side of the bullhead.

"So what's the plan?" Yang asked, glancing at Yin, who was doing her damndest to keep the bullhead level, cursing softly under her breath every few seconds.

"We land, beat everyone up, capture Adam, and hopefully get a lead on Blake. If she is pursuing Adam, we simply keep him locked up, spread the word we captured him and wait for her to approach us." Ruby summed up quickly

Yang nodded "sounds like a plan".

"That's hardly a plan!" Weiss retorted. "What about scouting? Layouts? What if the base is underground? Shouldn't we cause a distraction and sneak in?"

Ruby looked at her then pointed at Yin and Yang.

"Is Rubes pointing at me?" Yin asked, glaring down at the controls.

"You betchya." Yang chirped.

"Rubes it was one time! One time!"

"I'm sorry but marching up to a band of giants in Jotunheim and proclaiming we just killed their local deity isn't stealthy."

"I thought it would get us out quickly! They'd let us go through! We just killed their god!"

"Weiss told you specifically not to what you did!"

"Since when did I ever listen to what Weiss said?" Yin exclaimed, exasperated.

Ruby sighed. "We're getting off topic, can you land this thing?"

"Define land." Yin asked. Weiss and Yang looked at each other worriedly. Before glancing at Ruby casually rolling her eyes.

"As in get us on the ground alive."

"Yep, I can do that."

Weiss let out a breathe she didn't realize she was holding.

"Those two are insane." Weiss whispered to Yang

"That is the understatement of the century." Yang whispered back. Her arms crossed. Weiss glared at her.

"You appear to be enjoying this." She observed looking at Yang's grin and the excitement in her eyes.

"Of course, princess. How could I not?"

"I changed my mind, all of you are insane."

"How about you?"

"You know, I'm not sure anymore." Weiss admitted.

"Get reading for a landing!" Yin shouted.

Within a few seconds, the smashing of trees jostled the bullhead, Weiss and Yang tumbled into each other, even as Ruby struggled to stay upright. The breaking of branches revealing their presence to the people below. Weiss would have cursed if she wasn't concerned about biting her own tongue.

"Prepare for impact!" Someone shouted, presumably Yin, but over the breaking of branches and the roar of the engines Weiss couldn't tell. She shut her eyes and prepared for the force of the bullhead smashing into the ground.

The crash was loud, trees splintered at the impact as dirt exploded outwards. The smell of burning gasoline was everywhere.

Ruby, Yin, Yang and Weiss all crawled out of the bullhead through various hatches, doors and windows.

"Everyone OK?" Ruby shouted, all attempts at stealth forgotten.

Yin glanced over at Weiss and Yang. "I think we're fine sis." She called back, stumbling out of the smoke as she did so.

As the smoke cleared Yang let out a sigh. "Well, there goes any chance to sneak in." She pointed towards an encampment, probably an outer lookout station. A score of White Fang soldiers were already fanning out, heading in the direction of the Ruined bullhead.

Weiss nodded, looking at the same thing Yang was. She shook her head. "Couldn't you have landed a little bit more quietly?"

Yin laughed. "Where's the fun in that?" she asked, cocking Ember Celica as she turned to face the group.

"Remember, We're her for Adam Taurus." Ruby reminded everyone as she pulled out Crescent Rose. The others nodded. Ruby aimed her weapon and fired. The first fight was on.

* * *

Lie Ren was patient. Patient enough to wait in the middle of Vale's marketplace for several days on end. Patient enough to wait for Qrow Branwen to visit a bar. He had forced the others to help him. Cinder wasn't much of a problem, she wanted to be useful to Salem, and that meant being useful to him.

Mercury was a little more challenging. But Cinder controlled him through fear, and she had leveraged that fear well. Sadistic monster that she was, Ren had to concede she knew what she was doing.

Valkyrie had been the most troubling. Mostly because she had wanted to take more direct action. It took quite a bit of convincing before she stopped proposing to twist the legs of every barmaid in the area into pretzels in an attempt to elicit information. Surprisingly, once Ren thought to point out the obvious, that none of them had aura, had she actually stopped. Ren supposed that was the flaw in their thinking, when everyone on Vytal had aura from the moment they were born they couldn't imagine others not having the same. The fact that most people on Remnant did not have active Aura's was startling.

"I'm bored, can I go into the bar?" Nora asked through the comm channel. Ren raise da hand to his ear.

"No Nora, you can't. Wait outside, I'll make pancakes later."

'Fine…" Nora replied with a defeated huff.

"But what if he slipped through another way?" Cinder proposed.

"He wouldn't." Ren said confidently. He scanned the crowd, ignoring the response over the intercom. Suddenly a flash of blonde hair appeared amidst the bystanders. His eyes instinctively followed it. It was someone his own age, or at least its relative equal on Remnant. The shape looked so familiar, he could almost swear it was Jaune. But the figure was with a tall, blonde haired woman, and they looked to be shopping. It was unlikely to be Jaune. Still, the thought nagged at him.

"Turn, turn damnit." Ren whispered. His prayer was answered when a man absentmindedly slammed into the blonde's shoulder. The moment the boy turned to accept an apology was the only time Ren needed. The flash of sapphire eyes, and the shape of the face made all doubt vanish.

His hand whipped up to his ear, pressing the small speaker button on his comm system. "Nora, I think I see Jaune, meet up with me on the next street."

He didn't wait for a response, instead deftly entering and blending in with the crowd, trying to get closer. As he moved back and forth in the swirling masses of Vale's citizens he took in Jaune's appearance. He could only presume the blonde woman with him was Goodwitch. He couldn't tell from where she was positioned relative to himself. But the Jaune he knew had a very different stature. Without Pyrhha around, he was always slightly tense, his back arched backwards ever so slightly. He also wasn't wearing Crocea Mors, something the Knight-Commander would never have left behind. This Jaune was dressed in a navy blue short sleeved shirt and pale denim jeans, sneakers completed the outfit. If Ren hadn't heard that the Remnant Jaune Arc was a huntsman, he would never have imagined this person to be anything other than a civilian.

"Ren, I'm above you. That's Goodwitch and Jaune!"

"the Remnant Jaune. No need to worry. Follow them from above, let's try to follow them back to their hideout. Then we can rendezvous with Cinder."

"Roger." Nora chirped before the comm went silent.

Ren continued to follow the two, there was a nagging at the back of his mind, and he couldn't precisely tell what was causing it. He made certain to follow from a distance, and with Nora backing him up, if this was somehow a trap, they would be in for a big surprise.

* * *

"We're being followed." Jaune whispered to Glynda.

"Act normal."

"Normal? How? I don't have my weapon, I don't have my Armor, I'm practically defenseless, That in itself is abnormal!" Jaune hissed.

Glynda cocked an eyebrow. But said nothing.

"Drag them into an alley, we can question them there." Jaune proposed. Glynda subtly glanced around.

"There are two, one on the rooftops and one somewhere behind us. They're good."

Jaune nodded in confirmation, following Glynda as she took a left. These two were good. If he hadn't been searching for someone tailing them he wouldn't have noticed the first one. Hell, he had assumed that there had been at least one more, but he couldn't tell where the tail was. That was more of Ren and Nora's forte.

Something bubbled in his stomach at the thought of his friends. He hoped they were okay. Hopefully they had met up with Pyrrha, that would have been the safest bet. They were smart, they wouldn't get wrapped into this huge mess.

 _I wonder what that says about me then…"_ He thought absently.

"We're here." Glynda whispered as she made one final turn into a dead end alley. The duo stopped.

Around them, there was silence, Jaune turned and _felt_ more than saw, a figure approach. The tail hung to the shadows, a faint silhouette was all that Jaune could discern.

He crouched into a defensive posture, arms raised, his body low to the ground. He was unarmed, and these tails almost certainly weren't.

"You think you can face a Knight-Commander of Vytal? Let's see about that."

Glynda pulled out her riding crop, her eyes keeping more to the roof than buildings above them than to the figure. "Be ready, they'll strike fast and hard." Glynda said, shifting her glasses slightly.

The few moments that passed seemed like much longer to Jaune. The figure had paused, just out of sight. The world around them was silent, not even the sound of wind blew through the alley.

"Abort."

They word was uttered so quickly and so faintly that Jaune wasn't quite sure he heard it. His body reacted on instinct, charging towards where he believed their enemy to have been standing.

"Jaune wait!" Glynda shouted as Jaune skidded to a halt, casting his gaze across the shadows. There was no indication that anybody had even stood there.

"What the hell was that?" Jaune asked.

Glynda approached him. "I don't know. Perhaps it had something to do with what you said."

"But that would mean-"

"Salem has a God on her side." Glynda finished. She turned and started to stride quickly down the backstreet "We need to get back to mountain Glenn immediately. Qrow can wait for his whiskey fix."

Jaune gave one last look at where the tail had been standing. If there were god involved it would have to be one of the others. But who? Jaune turned and left, intent on finding out who had betrayed them.

* * *

"That was Jaune." Ren said, breathless, his hands entwined squeezing tightly so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

"Well of course that was Jaune." Valkyrie said waving her hand. She didn't seem disappointed that they had left, instead she seemed to be confused. Like how one might feel if a cat had a mouse cornered and whimsically decided to let it go.

"No, that was _Jaune_." Lie said. Valkyrie paused before she scratched the back of her head, she let out a sigh.

"Well that Just makes things more complicated. What should we do?"

Ren knew the question that laced the actual question. He raised his hands "What can we do? Without the whole story, there is no doubt that he thinks we're villains!"

Valkyrie sat across from him. "Well duh! We're not exactly helping the people of Remnant. This is a necessary evil, remember? You actually think Jaune would accept that without being utterly convinced there was no other way?"

"We can't just sit down and talk, not now!" Ren said, a look of desperation in his eyes.

Valkyrie nodded. "Yeah, The best we can do is not hurt him." She said, a forced smile on her face. Lie nodded numbly.

Valkyrie pulled him into a hug. "It'll be alright. We can explain this to him once we have the others dealt with. Then we go find Pyrrha and our friends. Then we stop Fenrir and we all go home."

Lie nodded, hoping it would be that simple.


	32. Is Adam Here Yet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own RWBY

 

* * *

The White Fang Grunts had had a snowball's chance in hell at holding back the Goddesses and Huntresses. The Fangs that had gone to investigate the disturbance had been dispatched quickly, and they had simply overwhelmed the outpost's remaining garrison. Now they were standing in front of the mouth of a cave. The cave mouth was large enough for a full-grown behemoth to waltz through, if it hadn't been for the massive steel door in the way.

"You'd think they were expecting an invasion." Yin said, kicking some dirt with her boot.

"We could always rig an explosive." Yang proposed.

Weiss shook her head. "Not one big enough to deal with this." She said pointing at the door. "It's likely reinforced, and possibly dust enhanced. The question is where did a ragtag terrorist group get the funding?"

"The question is how are we going to get through the door?" Ruby growled. "There doesn't seem to be any way to open it from the outside. We're in the middle of a heavily forested area, an explosive would cause a forest fire and probably attract more attention." She rubbed her face with a hand. "We'll have to trick them into letting us in."

"How? They're not going to let four humans in there."

Yin shrugged, "Why not?" she asked, examining the unconscious form of one of the grunts.

The White Fang desires to destroy humanity. They want vengeance for humans treating Faunus poorly in the past." Weiss explained.

"Well then… that's different." Yin replied, a grin growing on her face as she found what she was looking for. "Ah ha! Found one."

"Found what?" Yang asked.

Yin raised her hand, she was grasping what looked like an outdated radio transponder.

"They must use those to send messages undetected. The kingdoms would monitor scroll communication, but not radios."

"At least not way out here." Yang said. "But unless you have some way of tricking them into opening the door that won't help."

Ruby grinned. Tapping the steel door. "Yin, get on that."

Yin laughed before clearing her throat.

"HQ?" She said, throwing her voice. It sounded deep and guttural, like something out of a shoddy movie.

"HQ here. What do you want?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, after Beacon, she had expected something resembling military discipline. Clearly that was not the case.

"We got into a fight with some hunters, have wounded they need medical help."

Weiss facepalmed she felt like screeching. There was no way such an obvious ploy would work.

"Roger that. Medics will be up shortly ETA 2 minutes."

" _How the hell did that work?"_

"Roger. Over and out."

The line was cut. Yin threw the radio behind her. "See? Easy!"

"You said there were hunters out here! What if they decided to lock down instead, or worse flee?" Weiss exploded. Her hands curled into trembling fists. "Did you even think of that?"

Yang glanced worryingly between the two, Weiss wasn't angry as much as she was irritated. And while Yang could see her point, wasn't it the result that mattered?

Yin took it all in without moving a muscle, she was surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing.

"Relax Weiss, If I had made up some story, or just asked them to open the door, they might have detected a lie or been suspicious. Hunters are people they're used to dealing with."

Weiss paused, taking a moment to think on that. A grinding sound behind her took her attention almost immediately, as did the unmistakable sound of Crescent Rose expanding.

"Thank you for opening the door. Now please surrender, no need for anyone to get hurt." Ruby said behind her. Weiss rolled her eyes, today wasn't going to get any stranger anytime soon. She turned to see two trembling Faunus, carrying what could only be medical supplies. Yin and Yang approached them as well. The Faunus dropped what they were carrying and raised their hands in surrender.

Weiss sighed. At least an alarm wasn't going off. She paused, waiting for the blaring on an alarm.

"Weiss, hurry up!" Yang said loudly. Weiss nodded and followed them through the door, ignoring the now bound and gagged medics.

The cavern itself was wide and spacious, makeshift stations for medical aid and weapon repair were stationed near tents. However, there was utter silence, the sounds of dripping water and their shoes on stone were the only sounds. Weiss couldn't shake the feeling that the place seemed abandoned.

"Either this place is abandoned, or they have planned an ambush." Ruby muttered, looking deeper into the cavern, she squinted, but couldn't make out anything in the poorly lit area.

"It would explain why we aren't being attacked." Yin agreed, cocking Ember Celica as she did so.

The continued to walk until they came to a divide. The path forked, the left cavern leading upwards while the other seemed to wind deeper into the earth.

"Do you hear that?" Weiss asked, pausing as she looked towards the cavern on the left. She could hear something, but she couldn't discern what.

"Nothing." Yang replied with a shrug.

"I think it is coming from that way." Weiss said, pointing towards where she thought the sounds were coming from.

"Then we should split up," Ruby proposed, "that way we'll cover more ground. This place seems abandoned, but that doesn't mean it is. Stay on guard."

"Why don't you and Weiss head that way, Yin and I will head down this tunnel" Yang proposed.

"Sounds like a plan." Yin said cheerfully. Ruby nodded casting a glance at Weiss.

"Shall we?" Ruby said, turning and heading down the tunnel without waiting for a response.

"Wonder what got into her." Yin wondered aloud.

"I'll talk to her." Weiss said, biting her lip.

"Good luck with that princess, scream if you need help." Yang said with a smirk before both she and Yin headed off down the other tunnel.

Weiss sighed, before heading off after Ruby.

"Why does she need to make things so difficult?" Weiss wondered.

"So, do you think Weiss will be able to deal with your sister?" Yang asked as the two headed deeper into the earth.

"I don't know." Yin replied, shaking her head. At one time, she had thought meeting Weiss would help her sister, now, she didn't know. Ruby was polite to Weiss, but it was the kind of politeness one expects from a stranger. It wasn't like Ruby, it had never been like Ruby, to be this closed off. She hadn't said a word on the flight to the base, and she hadn't looked at Weiss once. It hadn't gone as expected, Weiss was supposed to strip Ruby of the armor she had built up, or at least give Ruby some closure. Instead, Ruby had piled even more armor onto her heart.

Yin was so deep in thought that she barely heard Yang's gasp. Yin stopped walking as she gazed around herself. They had exited the tunnel only to arrive in a large room. The stone floor had turned to sand. The stone walls had smoothed out and pegs for weapons were hammered into the stone. Weapons ranging from guns to spears hung from them, as did the occasional sword.

But what shocked them was the corpses that littered the area. Most were half rotten, all were White Fang.

"So, someone has finally found our headquarters." A voice said. Yin and Yang turned to see a faunus sitting, his sword resting on a shoulder. A shock of blue hair was slicked back, horns poking out from above his mask.

Yang froze. Flashes of that night at beacon hitting her as her heart pounded in her chest. Yin's face contorted into a snarl.

"Who are you?" She growled.

"I am the replacement for the traitor." The Faunus replied as he stood.

"Did you do all this?" Yang wondered waving her arms about her.

"The White Fang must be strong. Those who refused to strike at Beacon were punished for their weakness."

"But the White Fang attacked Beacon!" Yang exclaimed.

"The _true_ White Fang did, those who believe in our revolution, who understand that humanity must be punished. The rest, those who balked at the idea of striking at Beacon, the heart of human tyranny… got what they deserved. Adam commanded me to see to that."

"And I thought Adam was nuts." Yin said. As she crouched, cocking back an arm.

"So you want to fight? I have studied under Adam, I have mastered his skills." The terrorist threatened.

"Shut up." Yang said, as she also prepared to strike.

"You, you are the partner of the traitor." The terrorist hissed. "Adam vowed to have her punished. I will destroy everything she loves." He drew his sword, the silver blade almost glowing in the dimly lit arena. "And she will watch it all. From that camera." He jutted his head toward a wall.

In that moment, Yin launched her attack, surging forward as she threw a right, the Terrorist spun right, barely evading the strike. He swung upwards only for his blade to be blocked by the gauntlet of ember Celica.

"Now Yang!" Yin shouted. Yang burst forward firing buckshot from her own weapon. He pulled away, firing bullets from the hilt of his sword, which missed or bounced uselessly off the duo's gauntlets. Yang returned fire as Yin charged forward. He sheathed his sword then drew it quickly, launching a upward slash toward Yin. Yin stopped and quickly pushed backwards, the edge of her foe's blade less than half an inch from her nose.

Yin skidded to a halt.

"Moonslice, he always was fond of that move." Yin gasped, glad she had dodged a move known in Vytal for slicing through steel, flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter.

"Adam has never named it." He replied, sheathing his sword again. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

He surged forward, fully concentrating on Yin. Yang appeared from the corner of his vision, firing as she closed in on him. He felt the impact of the bullets but allowed his aura to take it. Yin was the elder sister it seemed, and the more dangerous of the two. He wondered if they were twins, they certainly looked alike. Perhaps Blake cared about the older one too.

He failed to notice the smile on Yin's face as she burst forward just as he started to draw his sword. His eyes wide He immediately swung unsheathing his sword quickly, but Yin was already too close. She grabbed his sword arm with her left hand, her right arm rose, the sound of a gun cocking ringing in his ears as he watched, almost in slow motion as the fist came down. The discharge silent as he felt the buckshot slam into his arm and past his aura.

The terrorist pulled away, his sword clattering to the ground as it fell from his ruined right arm's grasp. But he had no time as Yang quickly followed up Yin's strike with one of her own, her fists slammed into the pale mask. The first strike knocked his mask off, the second strike caused him to curl over as the third smashed into the back of his head, dropping him to the ground.

His head swam. His body weak as he lay there, the blood from his ruined arm mixing with the sand. He could smell the blood. Not just his blood, but the blood of others that had been spilt in this arena. The blood from accidents as well as the blood form those he had punished. He stared as the two women approached him.

He snarled, pushing himself from the ground. He would not let those he fell die in vain. He would not surrender while he could still fight. Rage boiled with in him, giving him the strength to move.

He bolted charging towards the exit. Yang took aim, but Yin grabbed her arm.

"We can't, his aura's too low, it could kill him." She warned. Yang nodded, and the two charged after the bloody and bruised terrorist.

Meanwhile, Weiss and Ruby had discovered why the base had seemed abandoned.

The two-stared dumbfounded at their discovery.

"Table for two?" Weiss asked weakly. There was no response.

"Screw it," Ruby muttered as she pulled out Crescent Rose, "Let's get this over and done with."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter did not come out as planned, and several things have had to be changed. I'm currently extensively revising the next chapter. that might take awhile as I just can't make the ending work. if anyone would like to see the next chapter early in return for working with me on it, PM me. I'm still looking for a Beta.
> 
> The arc is reaching its climax, with any luck, the arc should be done by April, although, this was only supposed to be a ten-chapter arc, and anyone who has read it knows that did not happen.
> 
> Also, any pointers on fight scenes would be appreciated.
> 
> I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's day, and did something they enjoyed. For me, it was books LOTS of books.
> 
> Until next week.
> 
> Deamonhunter


	33. How About Now?

A few minutes previously

"So, are you ever going to talk about it?" Weiss asked hotly. She was tired of Rose avoiding taking about her problems. Ruby Rose, her partner, was so open, Rose was practically her polar opposite. A veneer of friendliness covering a cold soldier, and sometimes not even that.

"Weiss, I already told you," Ruby replied as she walked deeper into the tunnel "I'm not talking about her, she's dead."

Weiss shook her head. She didn't believe that the goddess in front of her believed that for a second. She almost chuckled, both Ruby and Rose were bad at hiding things.

"You don't believe that. Not for a second. But that isn't what is important."

Ruby whirled around, her silver eyes narrowed, the faintest hint of a scowl on her face.

Weiss shivered under Ruby's frosty gaze. But she pressed forward. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. You need to let someone in."

Ruby turned around. "There's a door ahead, hurry up."

"You can't keep running from this, it will kill you." *Weiss called to her. Ruby didn't respond.

They reached the smooth metallic door a few minutes later.

"Who knew the White Fang were this well-funded…" Weiss wondered brushing her fingers on the door.

"Doesn't matter," Ruby replied gruffly "just get it open."

As if on command the door opened. Fifty heads turned in their direction, wondering exactly who had come late to lunch.

The White Fang member's eyes landed on two people, presumably huntresses.

"Table for two please?" Weiss asked politely.

"Shit." Ruby said, pulling out her scythe.

She launched forward quickly, taking down three Fangs in a single swing. Panic consumed the room as Weiss joined the fray, casting glyphs and launching attacks left and right. The Fangs were unarmed, unprepared for an enemy to attack them during their lunch break.

Ruby fired a round at a daring Fang struggling to reach the alarm, little more than a large brass bell. She smirked as she kicked another Fang in the face. The grin slipped slightly as she saw a large group surrounding Weiss. The smile grew again as Weiss used Myrtenaster to freeze the floor below her, trapping the Fangs as they scrambled to stay upright while unable to move their feet, frozen to the floor.

The dust settled as Ruby slammed her foot onto the edge of one of the tables, launching it into the air. A single Faunus was curled underneath it. He screamed as he saw Ruby look down at him.

"Hey Weiss, I think we have someone still able to talk."

Weiss elbowed one last Fang, the Faunus slumping over unconscious before striding over. She looked down at the Faunus.

'So it seems." She agreed. She turned to the Faunus. "We want Adam Taurus. Where is he?" She asked. The Faunus pointed at a stairwell to their right. "he's in the cells... uh…. Interrogating the prisoners."

"Thank you very much." Weiss said kindly.

The Faunus relaxed "You're wel-" he began before Ruby give him a roundhouse kick to the head.

Weiss stared at her.

"What? If I let him get away uninjured they would've known who'd talked." Ruby said

"They already will!" Weiss exclaimed pointing to several fangs still trying to get out of the ice.

Ruby shrugged. "Let's get going."

"I find your resorting to violence disturbing."

"Against terrorists who destroyed Beacon?" Ruby asked as she leaped onto the stairwell

"That's fair," Weiss conceded as she followed. "Still no reason to resort to unnecessary violence." She muttered in a quiet voice.

"Where did that blue haired bastard go?" Yin yelled.

"I don't know. Maybe we should meet up with your sis and Weiss, catch up to Adam."

Yin nodded, and raced off down the opposite tunnel. Yang followed after double checking that this was in fact where the group had split.

The two reached the cafeteria in time to witness the remains of their friends' fights. Yang whistled in appreciation.

"Seems those two certainly turned up the heat."

"Yang, nothing is burning, there's ice everywhere!" Yin retorted.

"You know what I meant." Yang replied rolling her eyes.

"Is this what Weiss felt like whenever I made a bad pun?" Yin wondered.

"It's art!" Yang retorted.

"Yes, Just like Blake's smut."

"Exactly!" Yang said with a smile.

Yin smiled back. "Let's catch up with the others," She said before rushing off.

Yang followed up the stairwell and down the corridor. The sound of gunshots becoming clearer as they went. "This must be the cell area" she murmured. As she followed Yin down another corridor. Red petals whipped across her vision. a sickening crunch could be heard as Ruby plowed through concrete, a weak moan coming from her before she pushed herself up.

"Rose!" She shouted, skidding to a halt. Yin ran over to her sister.

"Adam, caught us by surprise, get to Weiss." She ordered, grimacing as a hand went down to her ribs. A wince indicated that a few may have been cracked or broken.

Yin glanced at Yang. "Are you ready?" She asked.

Yang didn't know how to answer, her heart was pounding in her chest, a mixture of rage and fear churning inside her. Fear of the man who cut of her arm, who destroyed Beacon, who so casually defeated her partner. Anger at the man who turned a dream into a nightmare, who tortured and abused her partner for years, who stole her arm.

Yang balled her hands into fists. She gave a slight nod. Yin nodded back.

"Ruby stay here." She ordered, a weak thumbs-up was her only response.

The duo sprinted off towards Weiss and Adam. They didn't need to go far, one left turn brought them right into the middle of the fight.

Adam was pushing his katana closer to Weiss. Weiss had her back to a wall pushing back with both hands on Myrtenaster's grip.

"Give up Schnee." He snarled, his blading inching closer to Weiss' throat.

Yang charged in, a shout and a burst of aura signaling her strike.

Adam's head spun at the sound, He snarled, leaping away from Weiss' and out of range of Yang.

He sheathed his sword. His mouth contorted into a scowl.

"You again? Wasn't last time enough for you?"

Yang's heart hammered, her eyes wide. She stared at him. "I'm not running." She said quietly.

Adam apparently heard her, as he smiled in response. "As if I'd let you." He replied.

Adam launched forward quickly drawing his blade. A glyph appeared ahead of him, pushing him back once again. He ducked under a round of buckshot, several pellets nearly grazing him. He smiled as he saw a third person behind Yang and Weiss.

"So, you brought an ally." He muttered.

"Yeah they did. And we are going to beat you into next week." Yin said cheerfully. Walking up behind the two huntresses-in-training. Weiss grinned as Yang let out a cheerful chuckle.

Adam scowled, re-sheathing his sword. "No matter." He replied.

'Do you really think you can take on three huntresses at once?" Weiss asked.

Refusing to answer, Adam charged forward. His blade swung toward Yang's head. She weaved to the side, firing a right hook at Adam. He moved out of the way only to be forced to spin as Weiss stabbed at him, aiming for his masked but slashing his jacket instead. He once again sheathed his sword.

"Charge him now," Yin shouted, Yang and Weiss immediately reacted. Glyphs flowed throughout the corridor as Yang closed in. Adam began to draw his sword. It was too late by the time he realized Yang's target. The blade, half drawn, screeched as it's draw was stopped when Ember Celica smashed into it. The sound of buckshot smashing into metal echoed. Adam grimaced, and immediately backed away. A quick glance at Wilt showed that the blade had taken a surprising amount of damage; it had been so severely dented that he could not completely sheathe the weapon. The blade was warped with metal pellets embedded into the red steel.

He had no time to accurately survey if the integrity of his weapon had been crippled, as Yang came charging in again. Instead of risking his weapon against Ember Celica he did his best to dodge the blows. Buckshot grazed his left arm, knocking him off balance, he grimaced as he bent to evade a strike from his left.

He backed away, struggling to gain enough space to draw his weapon. But instead, the trio kept up their attacks. Another flurry of glyphs drove Adam against a wall, Yin's presence forcing him to constantly remain on the defensive. Yang continued to charge in, launch a few strikes then back out of range, covered by Weiss and Yin. Rage boiled within Adam, this was a battle of attrition, one he could not win, he need to change the situation quickly. He kicked a stack of crates over, forcing Yang to retreat. The crates shattered, spewing dust crystals everywhere.

He spotted his chance. Yang had retreated, but did not seem to have a support from Schnee or Yin, to cover her from an attack. Instinctively he drew his sword, the blade arcing upwards, he aimed to sever her left arm at the joint, such a strike would shock her allies and give him the critical time he need to pull out a victory.

The grin on Yang's face told him he had made a terrible mistake. The blade clanged against Ember Celica's left gauntlet, Yang pushed the blade of the sword into the wall, pinning it. Yin rushed forward as Yang unleashed a haymaker on Adam's face, the pain was intense he saw stars and his vison blurred. Adam stumbled back from the force of the blow, his weapon wrenched from his grasp.

His vision returned to normal in time to see Yin lift Wilt into the air and quite literally bend the blade in half. Adam would have been shocked if his mind was not already screaming for him to flee.

He bit back a curse, before pushing off and rushing down the corridor. The sound of a gunshot echoed as he felt something like a fist strike his leg, he fell quickly, his shoulder slamming painfully into the floor.

"Be careful Yang, he's out of aura!" Weiss called out.

"I'm not taking risks this time around! That other idiot got away!" Yang called back.

Adam dragged himself away as Yang approached. His mind spun, trying to grasp a way to escape. The environment had worked against him once he lost the element of surprise.

He concentrated on his grip of Blush. The weapon would help if it came down to it. He could feel his aura healing his leg, in a few moments he would be able to run. It would hurt, but he would be able to run. Yang reached out to grab him just as Adam's hand wrapped around a Dust crystal.

He threw the Dust crystal at Yang and fired Blush. The crystal exploded, lighting lashing out as smoke obscured the trio's view of Adam.

Adam pushed through the pain in his leg to run, he let instincts take over as he fled down a corridor, he slammed open a door opening to the cafeteria. He did not hesitate as he pushed himself forward, fleeing the group.

He cursed himself as he ran, next time he would win.

* * *

 

A/N: Sincerest apologies for the shorter than usual chapter length. Below is an omake of our friends back in Mistral, who we haven't seen in such a long time. They will get much more screen time next arc, I promise!

* * *

 

Omake:

Fenrir sat still, his ears flicking slightly in annoyance as he stared through the window of the shop. The animal did not fear him as it should. It stuck it's tongue out at him! Fen, for all that he lacked when it came to social interaction, knew that that was simply rude. This accursed ball of fluff needed to learn some manners.

"It looks like Zwei!" Nora crowed her face sandwiched against the glass.

"Zwei?"

"Ruby and Yang's dog." Ren explained.

Fenrir growled.

"Let's get it! Let's get it!" Nora begged.

Fenrir let his mind wander at the thought of getting the animal. He could whip it into shape, make sure it was obedient. It would fear him and love him.

"We could make it learn to fetch chocolate milkshakes." Fenrir proposed.

Nora gasped. "No!"

"What?" Fenrir asked hands spread out.

"Chocolate is poisonous to dogs." Ren explained.

Fenrir thought on this.

"Maybe we should get a cat then. Cat's will fetch chocolate milkshakes, right?"

Ren and Nora agreed that Fenrir should never have a pet.


	34. A Blake Intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Since we are working with multiple characters with the same names, I thought I would point out that in general (i.e. both characters are mentioned in the same chapter), unless the Vytalian God version has been given a nickname, they will be referred to by their last name (surname). For example, Remnant Jaune will be referred to as Jaune, While Vytalian Jaune will be referred to as Arc.
> 
> Of course, if a god or goddess is talking about a friend they will use their first names (how many people call their friends by their last name?). Hopefully this won't get too confusing.

Blake watched as the Bullhead flew south, away from the direction she had been heading in. The Fang HQ was supposedly just a few miles away. Their old HQ had been abandoned much to her chagrin, and nothing had come from sifting through the ruins. Her luck had improved when she traveled back to beacon, the explosion had told her a fight had gone on, and the reckless destruction implied that the White Fang had some part in it.

It hadn't taken her long to persuade the surviving Fang members at Beacon that telling her where their HQ was located was their best option for survival.

Blake glanced around again as she examined the surrounding foliage. The outposts had been well guarded, but sneaking past had been laughably easy, she had overheard something about a crashed bullhead. She had almost laughed at that. Her luck had to either be very good, or very bad.

She shook her head. Her plan had been a little absurd, she had intended to destroy the base with Dust charges, then possibly sift through the wreckage, for any information. The reality of her situation was that if, and it was a big if, Adam was there, she still doubted she was fully prepared to face him. But she strongly doubted he would be in any shape to fight buried under hundreds if not thousands of pounds of rock.

The thought somewhat disturbed her, it was unlike her to think so casually about possibly killing someone. Perhaps the degree of death and destruction was too great for to comprehend, or perhaps it was the time she had recently spent with her benefactor that had caused such a change. Then again, relying on bandits was something Ruby and Yang's uncle had warned her about. She had done it anyway.

She huffed and pulled the rucksack over her shoulder the charges inside clanking together. She walked up the heavily wooded hill ahead of her, grinning as she saw the mouth of the cave. She walked forward her smile fading as she saw the cave mouth open. She had been told that there was a set of steel doors at the mouth of the cave. They were supposedly kept sealed at all times. And yet, here they were, wide open.

Uncertainty pooling in her gut, Blake drew Gambol Shroud and slowly walked inside. She noticed two Fangs, slumped unconscious by the side of the door, bound and gagged. Blake's eyes narrowed as she continued downwards. She stopped where the tunnels split and took the left tunnel. She was stunned as she walked inside the cantina.

"What the hell did this?" She asked herself. Perhaps who would have been a better question, as there wasn't enough carnage for the Grimm to be involved. However, taking out fifty fangs was no mean feat. A hunter or huntress of considerable skill was behind this.

She walked up the nearby stairwell and entered the corridors above. The damage here was impressive, Walls had been knocked down and it smelled as if there had been a fire. The scent of gunpowder was thick as well. Blake continued to explore the corridors, coming across more damage with every turn. One wall was slashed with a sword, frozen and then seemed to have been shot with a shotgun. She almost grinned, imagining this to be something like what Team RWBY would have done.

She eventually found her way to what appeared to be a surveillance room. Several screens displayed different parts of the compound. She ignored the images, and instead sat down at the controls, replaying the feed from several hours back.

She watched, not entirely comprehending as Weiss, Ruby and _two_ Yangs entered the compound.

She watched as the two Yangs defeated the Blue haired Faunus. She couldn't hear his words, and the picture was to grainy to try to read his lips. But she had no doubt as to where he had learned to fight. And that was telling in its own way.

She sat, eyes wide as she observed Weiss and Ruby taking on a cantina full of Fangs. She shivered in concern at the sight of Ruby's near ruthless strikes.

Her throat caught as Adam struck at the two huntresses. Neither has been prepared. She nearly gasped when as she saw Ruby fly back from a sword strike, crashing through walls. She felt her heart soar as the two Yangs (and she needed to figure out why there were two), appeared and helped Weiss.

She almost smiled when the four had then trudged back out. Adam having either fled and having committed suicide by dust explosion. The feed had cut out at that point, the camera likely having been damaged or destroyed by the blast.

She paused the feed as the bullhead landed right outside the cave entrance. The bullhead itself was unmarked but she looked at the pilot. The pilot seemed to be heavily armored, unusual for Vale of Mistral; and Vacuo rarely sent Bullheads outside of its own territory.

"So, they're working with Atlas." Blake muttered. She had heard that Weiss had given up her position as heiress and had left the main Schnee household after a supposed attack on it by the White Fang. She hadn't believed it for a second though. She had concluded that Weiss had been forced out somehow, or perhaps she ran away.

Clearly Blake had been right, at least to some degree.

Blake stood and pulled out her scroll. She hesitated.

This scroll wasn't her standard one, that had been more or less useless after the fall of the CCT tower, this one was designed rely on individual CCT towers, something of a quick fix after Vale's tower fell. Currently it was only given out to military personnel, fortunately her benefactor had been able to snatch one for her.

Blake debated whether to call or not. Adam could still be out there, but at the same tie, Yang had proven herself capable of fighting, that combined with the facts that the trail to Adam was now cold and they had basically declared war on the White Fang, meant staying away from the others probably didn't help them.

"Yang is going to be pissed." Blake muttered as she tapped a contact. She held the scroll up, a fuzzy image on the other side appeared.

"What happened Blake?" The woman asked quickly.

"I'm at the HQ. Ruby, Yang and Weiss raided it already. The trails gone cold." She avoided mentioning the second Yang, no need to make things even more confusing.

The woman on the other end paused.

"I supposed you want to return to your team now?"

Blake nodded.

"Very well. I'll track Yang's scroll, but it will take some time."

"They're working with Atlas. An Atlas bullhead picked them up."

The woman's face remained expressionless but she couldn't hide the surprise in her voice.

"Well, that simplifies things. I'll have Qrow contact Ironwood."

"Thank you."

"Never mind that. But Blake, when you meet up with your team take them to Mountain Glenn. We'll meet you there."

"Why Mountain Glenn?" Blake asked, remembering what had happened only a few months ago, it still felt raw.

"That is not your concern. It will be explained when we meet." The woman replied dismissively, "I'll contact you when I have a location."

The scroll call ended abruptly, the screen going black.

Blake stared at the scroll. "Anything you want me to tell your daughter?" She half snarled, half snarked.

She pocketed her scroll before rubbing her forehead.

"Yang is going to kill me for this." She muttered before heading back towards the cave mouth. She needed to book a bullhead, that was not going to be fun.

* * *

Ironwood waited for the Bullhead to land. In his hand, he held a thermos. The coffee inside still steaming hot. He took a small sip. The taste of whiskey mixed with coffee dancing on his tongue.

He frowned as his thoughts wandered to the people on the bullhead. Especially as it pertained to a scroll call, from Glynda no less. He had to admit he was somewhat surprised. The members of team RWBY were resourceful to say the least. Ironwood would have happily offered them a place at Atlas Academy, if he thought they would accept. Unfortunately, he doubted the Free Spirited Ruby Rose and her team would decide to sit and study rather than save the world.

He took another drink, mulling over the thought, it wasn't like he could blame them, they were still overall wide-eyed idealists in his opinion.

" _A worldview almost always destroyed by time and experience"_ He thought bitterly.

The bullhead landed with barely a whisper of its engines. The door slid open quickly to reveal the group. Yin was supporting Ruby, her shoulder slung over her sister's back as she struggled to stand. Yang and Weiss stood by, ready to help if they needed to, but for the time being, it seemed clear that their help was not wanted.

The four quietly stepped off the bullhead as its motors stopped running. Ironwood nodded to the four as the approached.

"Well done." He said.

"You're not angry about the White Fang hideout?" Weiss asked.

"You took the initiative. While I would say, it was reckless, the results are what matter. Our intelligence officers say the Vale White Fang is so disorganized after the attack that that Vale's own forces could probably deal with it. Adam Taurus has been eliminated as an effective leader, and millions in lien have been stripped from the White Fang's assets. Combine that with the information we are getting from the Base's database, I'm hardly in a position to complain."

"Not to mention that Vale now owes you two favors rather than one." Yin added, handing over the chip the CCT Data.

Ironwood took it with one hand and examined it briefly.

"That is true." He said with a knowing smile, handing the chip over to one of his aides.

"But currently that is not of concern. You may be interested to know we have had contact with Glynda Goodwitch."

"Is she alright?" Yang asked curiously.

Ironwood nodded, "Yes she is. But more importantly she and your mother are in Mountain Glenn."

There was an intake of breath, and silence. The end of their mission was right in front of them.

"We have to head there immediately then." Weiss said, turning to Yang, "we will find your mother." She promised.

"Wait a moment." Ironwood said.

"Why?" Yin asked. "Yang's mother is at Mountain Glenn."

"Things have gotten much more complicated, I think it is time we gave you a… clearer picture of what is going on especially since other gods have become involved."

Without waiting for a reply he turned and walked towards the base, away from the landing strip.

"Seems we will be having another office meeting." Ruby mused, quickly following Ironwood.

The three other quickly followed her.

As Ruby had suspected Ironwood led them back to his office. It was strangely silent in the base. As if everyone was holding a collective breath.

"Is Winter here?" Weiss asked trying to break the silence.

"Winter is away on a mission." Ironwood replied as he opened the door to his office and ushered the group inside.

He sat in his chair behind a desk. Planting his elbows on the desk he clasped his hands together before staring at the group.

"Glynda has made contact with the Vytal version of Jaune Arc and Blake Belladonna. Glynda and Knight-Commander Arc have come into contact with people they believe to also be gods, but were neither able to verify the claim nor the identity of the people pursuing them".

The group stiffened. Weiss and Yang turned to watch Ruby, who had a nonplussed expression on her face. In fact, her expression was completely unreadable.

"But of more immediate concern is that Blake Belladonna of Team RWBY is on her way here." Ironwood finished.

"Blake's coming here?" Yang exclaimed.

"She should be here tomorrow." Ironwood explained, "then the five of you shall head to Mountain Glenn to meet up with Arc and Belladonna, the two Vytalian gods, as well as Glynda and her allies. Raven Branwen will presumably be among them."

He smiled slightly. "It is rare that what you pursue falls straight into your lap, you're very lucky."

The four women remained silent, each trying to absorb the information in their own way. Yang and Weiss, were a mixture of nervous and excited. For Yang, there was also a hint of old anger, she would have to keep that in check.

Yin was pleased, Arc and Belladonna were alive, reconnecting with Lie, Valkyrie and Nikos would be much easier with more of their friends supporting them.

Yin turned to her sister, an ugly feeling in her gut.

Ruby stood there calmly, no expression on her face, no reaction available to be read. She seemed completely at ease. Yin knew there was something going on in that head of hers, whether it was excitement or panic she couldn't tell. But she couldn't help but recall what Ruby had said about Belladonna.

_Would she really be willing to kill her?_ Yin wondered. She didn't think so, but the fact that the possibility existed terrified her.

Ruby wouldn't kill her, Yin wouldn't allow it.


	35. Departures

Ragnarok 35

Departures

Knight-Commander Ruby Rose sat down at the desk in her room. Well, it was more of a rectangular box really. The walls were pure white, with pale tile floors. There was a desk in one corner with a small office chair under the desk. Along bed was set in another corner and coffee table in front of a couch the practically blended into the wall.

She took a sip from the steaming cup of coffee she held. Her face scrunched when the bitter fluid touched her tongue. The hot liquid flowing down her throat quickly. Ruby set it down on the desk as she leaned back in the chair. Her gaze turned towards the ceiling, as it tended to when she was deep in thought.

"So Blake's alive huh?" She muttered, images of her friend floating through her mind. The amber eyes, the cat ears the raven hair. It was familiar, a stoic whose presence was comforting. Ruby shivered as the amber eyes turned red, surrounded by black, as the hair changed color.

Ruby quickly took another swig of coffee, the bitterness taking her mind off Belladonna for just a moment. Long enough to cast the corrupted version of her friend into the recesses of her mind. She looked into the coffee, the black pool reflecting her image.

With a sigh she put down the coffee cup.

"Jaune is with her too," Ruby muttered, "I suppose that means everyone was separated."

Ruby's hand balled into a fist as she struggled to keep her concerns in check. She needed to concentrate on the mission. Finding Fenrir was critical, Her friends were capable enough on their own, the things on remnant were no threat to them.

The thought didn't comfort Ruby. She was tired of losing friends, tired of losing people close to her. She knew that for all her words, she could not bring herself to harm Belladonna. That bothered her. How could she be a good leader if she couldn't make the tough choices?

"Weiss was always good at explaining stuff like that." Ruby muttered, a pang of hurt striking her heart.

The knocking on her door brought her from her thoughts. She sighed, tiredly rubbing her face as she stood and walked to the door. The door opened with a hiss, Ruby's eyes widened as she saw the young former heiress standing in front of her, hands on her hips.

"Well that's a coincidence." Ruby muttered as her hand dropped from her face.

Weiss paused for a moment, clearly choosing her words. "May I come in?" She asked politely.

Ruby nodded moving out of the way and waving a hand towards the couch. Weiss thanked her and sat as Ruby walked back to her chair. She sat limply, appearances were not important enough for her to care right now. Most things weren't important enough for her to care right now.

"SO," she began with emphasis, "Blake is arriving in the morning."

"Yes, congratulations." Ruby replied with forced politeness. In all honesty, she wanted to throw Weiss out, she didn't even understand why she had let the girl in.

Weiss paused for a moment, clearly deciding what to do. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"It's time we talked about your partner."

"It's time for you to stop, I already made it clear that I'm not interested in talking about her."

Weiss's gaze hardened. "And now I should make it clear that if I was her, I would be ashamed of how you are acting."

Ruby nearly bolted back. Then the rage came.

"You think you understand Weiss?" She hissed.

"According to you, we are the same person, so yes."

"You know nothing. You could not even begin to understand! Your Ruby, from what the records show, is a naïve little girl who thinks everything turns out well. You know nothing about Weiss and you know nothing about me."

"Rose, how many people have you been hurting with this act?" Weiss asked, her hand held out.

"You're cold, you threatened a man with torture, you beat a Faunus who was complying with our request. These aren't the actions of someone who cares, they're the actions of someone who is hurting and lashing out. Do you even really care about all this?"

The strength granted by Ruby's rage faded, leaving her numb. Ruby instead glared at Weiss, wishing she would leave.

Weiss instead took another tactic.

"Tell me what happened."

"If I tell you, will you leave?" Ruby asked. She didn't have the strength left to resist, the daily grind was wearing her down, and she didn't know how much of fight she had left.

Weiss nodded.

Ruby rubbed her forehead.

"It all started during a standard mission. We were wiping out a nest of a Grimm. Doesn't matter which one, you wouldn't have heard of it." She began, "next thing we know, Weiss is off on her own somehow. She was supposed to stick with Yang while Blake and I swung around the other side of the nest for a two pronged attack."

Weiss nodded, letting the scene develop in her mind.

"I told yang to stick to the plan. I had complete faith that Weiss knew exactly what she was doing. Then everything goes sideways. The Grimm somehow found out about our presence and our ambush turns into a deathtrap. Yang was able to fight her way out, the Grimm were mostly concentrating on Blake and I. We're barely able to get away."

Weiss bit her lip.

"I order us to leave, regroup. Having to do that was unusual for us, but we all knew protocol. The portals open up, and we leave." Ruby sighed, a faint hitch in her breath the only thing telling Weiss that this is where things started to go wrong.

"We get back to Vytal and Weiss isn't there. We wait a day and Weiss still hasn't shown up." Ruby said through gritted teeth. Her hand balling into a fist on the desk. She paused before letting out a sigh.

"A two month search led to us finding a broken, rusted Myrtenaster and that's it. No pools of blood, no torn clothing, just her damned sword." She barked out a laugh. "Some Grimm was gnawing on it as if it were some chew toy."

"So what happened next?"

"After we blew that Grimm to pieces?" Ruby started her breathing erratic "We had a funeral, full honors. And they called off the search. Said Myrtenaster was evidence that she was Killed in Action."

"You don't think she's dead do you?" Weiss asked already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it. The way Ruby had talked made that clear enough.

Ruby nodded. "At least, she wasn't. If she wasn't dead by the time Summer called off the search, she definitely was afterwards. It was years until the next portal to Vytal opened, there weren't enough Grimm left to merit another mission, so unless she became a local deity and survived off sacrifices, or found some other way to get food and supplies, she didn't have a chance."

Weiss sat there, letting all of this soak in. Ruby likely felt that she had abandoned her friend, her partner, and that had killed her.

"Rose-"A raised hand silenced her.

"Now, if you could, please leave," Ruby said quietly "I need to be alone."

This time Weiss did not resist. She stood and walked to the door. It opened with another hiss. Weiss paused and turned.

"You know, you didn't call off the search, you didn't force her to do anything. What happened wasn't your fault. If you keep this up, you'll lose everything."

Ruby did not answer, she looked lost in her own world.

The door closed after Weiss, but Weiss could sense, more than hear, the beginning of a sob. She turned and headed towards Yang's room. The sound of Rose sobbing would haunt her for the rest of the night.

* * *

Yin was in the fitness center lifting weights when she saw Weiss arrive. She placed the dumbbell she was using back on its stand. She had never pegged Weiss as a woman who exercised in a gym, except for perhaps the occasional treadmill. Her sister's partner had never been one for the Gym and she had assumed Weiss to have a similar disposition.

Yin shrugged, it wouldn't be the first time she was wrong regarding Weiss Schnee.

What did cause her to pause was the appearance of her fellow blonde, pale as a ghost. Yin raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly could cause the huntress such distress. She approached the duo who, when they saw her, headed straight towards Yin.

"Yin we need to talk." Yang said

"What's going on?" Yin asked, still perplexed, "you look like you just saw a ghost."

"Rose told me about Weiss, her partner." Weiss said quickly, sitting on a bench.

Yin paused, not quite sure how to react.

"And… how did this come about?" She asked, trying to not sound too invasive.

"Weiss bugged her until she caved." Yang supplied.

Yin let out a bark of laughter, her mouth curled into a grin, it was almost like a case of Deja vu, but Ruby and Weiss's positions had been switched. Yin found it amusing to say the least. However, she hid it, from the look on Weiss' face, the conversation, while enlightening, had not been a pleasant one.

"I see." Yin replied. "how many details did she give you?"

Weiss shrugged "enough." She replied vaguely. Yin nodded.

"And you want my help because…" she trailed off, hoping for an answer.

"Do you think she is dead?" Weiss asked.

Yin paused, recalling what she had said to her sister all those years ago.

* * *

_Ruby was at her desk, examining a pile of papers. They were logs from the mission and the search for Weiss. They all concluded the same thing, Weiss, while officially missing in action was certainly dead. Ruby didn't believe it for a second._

_"Ruby, you need to stop." Belladonna had insisted._

_Ruby shook her head, "if I stop now Weiss'll die. This is my fault, I shouldn't have let her go off on her own. I shouldn't have let her deviate from the plan without an explanation."_

_"You trusted your partner, nobody is blaming you. You didn't do anything wrong."_

_"Maybe not officially," Ruby began, not looking up from the papers in front of her "but I left a teammate behind, that is unacceptable."_

_The was a silence. Clearly Ruby thought the matter was finished. Yin sighed._

_"Ruby, Weiss is dead."_

_That got a rise out of Ruby who froze and pivoted herself towards her sister._

_"No, she's not."_

_"She was killed by a pack of Grimm while injured, her sword broke, she was exhausted she couldn't defend herself."_

_"She would have had her glyphs, she would have found a way. She's resourceful like that."_

_Belladonna stood and walked over to ruby she reached out to lay a hand on her leader's shoulder. Ruby slapped the hand away. The look of shock and hurt on Blake's face was indescribable._

_"She's not dead!" Ruby shouted. "She's not dead! She's too strong to die to a few Grimm! I left her behind, assuming she would get to the portal on her own! She didn't! Either someone has kidnapped her, or she found another way out, but she isn't dead!"_

_Ruby stood, and stormed out of their room, slamming the door behind her._

_Belladonna turned to Yin. "I don't think this will end soon." She said, fear and concern dancing on her face. She sat on Yin's bed and rested her head on Yin's shoulder. Yin stroked her hair comfortingly._

_"Give her time. Those two were inseparable."_

_"Do you think things will ever be close to how they were? Will Ruby smile again?" Belladonna asked._

_To that Yin had no answer._

"I think if she could, she would have shown herself to us. I think odds are, she's dead." Yin said. Weiss and Yang nodded sadly.

Yin turned and went to another exercise machine, leaving the two huntresses to their own thoughts. She pushed the weight as high as it would go, Yin needed to work off the stress of that conversation. Somehow, she thought her sister opening up would fill her with relief.

" _So why do I feel such dread?"_ She wondered.

* * *

Salem stared out her scroll, the message from Lie made her grin. More in excitement at being able to finish this accursed duty of hers. The text was brief, nothing complicated, she thanked the stars above for Lie's ability to trace the aura of others through objects. There were limitations of course, but he was more effective than most at tracking those the gods sought.

"Mountain Glenn." She murmured, "Color me surprised."

She texted back her approval and then she swapped to another contact and sent them a message as well. she wanted to make this a sure thing, and time was of the essence.

* * *

A/N: Whew! This chapter got edited _today_ so I apologize for any errors. We're moving toward the climax, and next chapter Blake and Yang finally meet again. I really need to work on that, as there will undoubtedly be some long-term conflict there: broken trust, guilt, etc.

So if anyone wants to help, send me a message, I'd love to have someone to bounce Ideas off of.

Until next time,

DeamonHunter


	36. Arrivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I didn't get a chance to do my usual editing process this week, I'm sorry for any mistakes I made. an announcement post-Hunt For Raven is at the bottom. Spoilers, the story will continue.

Yin, Yang, Ruby and Weiss waited on the landing pad. Blake's transport was late, and each had a different way to react to that.

Yin and Ruby were indifferent. Yin stretched her arms as she waited, while Ruby stood still, staring at the ground, her face showing she was deep in thought.

Weiss had her arms crossed, one booted foot tapping the ground impatiently. She cast a sideways glance at Yang, concern seizing her as she saw her teammate- no- friend's face.

Yang seemed to be a bundle of nerves, one moment she looked angry, the next scared. Her posture kept changing, she was messing with her hair one minute, and having her arms crossed in front of her the next. Weiss reached out, placing a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder. Yang's head whipped to glare at Weiss, her lilac eyes glowing a deep red. The quickly faded back to lilac however. Weiss gave her a soft smile, trying her best to be comforting.

"She'll be here yang." Weiss reminded her, "bullheads do run late sometimes."

Yang scratched her head as she cast a glance towards the landing pad.

"I know, but…" She gave a disgruntled sigh, "How do I even start? She left me, that hurt."

Weiss paused, wondering what she would do. Before Beacon, she would have cut the person off completely, but now? She didn't really know.

"Talk with her, maybe she has a reason that we don't know about." Weiss advised, her reasoning was valid, but it still felt weak.

Yang sighed before she crossed her arms and returned to shifting from one foot to the other.

The roar of the bullhead above them broke them from their stupor a few minutes later, None of them spoke, instead following the bullhead with their eyes as it turned and landed, the latch opening up to reveal a single huntress.

Blake's clothes had changed somewhat, she no longer dressed as she had at beacon, form fitting pants and boots covered her legs, a half shirt left her midriff bare even as dressed in a white jacket. Her ribbon once used to hide her ears, now appeared to be wrapped around her left wrist and hand, as if it was a glove of some sort.

Blake stepped off the bullhead quickly and quietly. Her heals making no sound as she walked towards them. Her heart pounded in her chest even as every instinct told her to run. That only conflict lay this way, no forgiveness, no mercy. She shoved those instincts down, she was tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of missing her friends.

She approached her teammates as well as the second Yang, a curious glance that way elicited a grin from the woman. But her eyes quickly turned to her partner. The look on Yang's face was one she couldn't describe well, it was conflicted. Blake stopped a few feet from her teammates.

"We'll leave you three to it." Ruby said.

A pang of hurt pierced Blake's heart. She had expected Ruby to be the most forgiving, instead, she had just upped and left. It was a slap in the face.

 _One I deserve._ She thought sadly. She watched as Ruby and the other Yang left, leaving her partner and Weiss alone with her.

She tried to speak, but no words would come, nothing to express how sorry she was.

Weiss glanced at Yang, who was waiting expectantly. _What is she waiting for? Is it for me to explain why I ran, like a coward? That I was scared and that is somehow an excuse? That Adam said he would hurt everyone I cared for, and so I left them behind?_

Blake could feel pain rising to the surface. But it was silenced by the shock of feeling the former heiress wrap her arms around Blake.

"We've missed you Blake." She whispered.

Blake crumbled, a mixture of exhaustion and relief drowning out any sense of dignity as she wrapped her arms around the heiress, tears slowly welling in her eyes. She continued to cry as she struggled to remain standing. Yang soon joined the hug, wrapping her two friends in her warmth.

"I missed you too Blake." She whispered faintly.

Blake continued to sob, she couldn't decide if she cried out of relief or joy, but whatever the cause, it didn't matter.

The three slowly released each other.

"We're glad to have you back." Weiss said. Yang nodded. Blake could sense some reluctance in it, they would need to talk later, but that could wait a few hours.

"I need to apologize to ruby too. I understand she's mad-"

Weiss eyes widened in recognition.

"Blake, the person you saw wasn't ruby."

At this Blake paused. That had to have been Ruby, it looked exactly like her!

"Well, it was Ruby but it wasn't." Weiss elaborated, giving a sigh as the look of confusion on Blake's face simply grew, "it's a long story, we'll explain inside, let's get breakfast."

"Weiss, we had breakfast two hours ago," Yang pointed out.

"then lunch."

"It's ten in the morning." Blake said, a wry grin on her face. She had missed this banter.

"Then brunch!" Weiss exclaimed throwing her hands in the air, "let's just sit and eat, and enjoy being together again!" she said with a huff. Yang and Blake giggled as the former heiress marched off towards the cafeteria. Blake and Yang followed.

"So, you going to tell me why you have a clone?" Blake asked.

Yang laughed, "she's older than me for one, but that'll be explained soon."

The three huntresses walked inside. Blake's heart eased a little, nothing had really been explained and this mess was confusing, but it was clear that her friends didn't hate her for leaving. She allowed herself to hope a little. Hope that things would return to normal in time.

The trio found Yin and Ruby sitting in the cafeteria. Yin grinned and waved as they entered, waving for them to come over.

"Pay up sis." Yin said holding a hand out as the three sat down. Ruby glanced at her sister, rolling her eyes before placing a couple of lien in Yin's hand.

"What was that for?" Weiss asked, confused.

"II was being rewarded for my optimism." Yin said proudly. Ruby let out a sigh.

"It's not important." She said before glancing at Blake. Her reaction was not like the one she had with Weiss, the Blake she knew had changed to much over the years, a small pang struck her heart, but otherwise, the sight of Blake caused no reaction.

Ruby looked at her with an appraising eye. Debating how to begin. Blake shifted nervously as no one spoke, an awkward silence broken only by the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria.

"What do you know about Yin and I?" Ruby asked quickly.

Blake shrugged, "not much, just you are Ruby but not Ruby."

Ruby nearly let out a snort of derision, but continued nevertheless.

"Yin and I are from Vytal,"

"The island?"

"No, the world. It is like remnant but also very different. Sort of like a misshapen mirror, some things are the same, some things are very different."

"I'm not sure I fully understand." Blake said, trying to wrap her head around this.

"Basically, consider us super-powered much older copies of your friends. Technically we're so much more powerful we are considered goddesses in comparison to you."

Blake raised an eyebrow, clearly not exactly impressed. Ruby could imagine her thinking of what Yang would do with the powers of a god.

"To make it clear, we are neither invincible nor entirely immortal. We're not omnipotent either," Ruby added

"Which is why we didn't just go chase after you." Weiss added.

"So…" Blake began, feeling as if she was falling down a very large confusing rabbit hole, "you are more powerful versions of Ruby and Yang."

Both goddesses nodded.

"Is there a god versions of us as well?" Blake asked, pointing to Weiss and herself.

The look on Yin's face must have been concerning to Blake, as she quickly glanced at both Weiss and Yang. The two had pained expressions on their face, as if they were trying to come up with a satiable answer.

Ruby didn't give either of them the chance.

"Weiss has been missing for decades, and Blake is currently quarantined. But yes, they do exist, as does versions of Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren. They are on Remnant as well, but we've lost contact."

Blake nodded, her face a mask as she dwelled in her own thoughts.

"I see." She muttered. A thought struck her, "why aren't you looking for them?"

"They can take care of themselves, but currently we're busy trying to find Yang's mother." Ruby said.

"Raven?" Blake asked, "why would you be looking for her?"

"Well, we're not anymore, she's a Mountain Glenn." Yin quipped.

Ruby sighed glancing at a large clock on the wall of the cafeteria. "And with that, I think I'll get ready for our trip. The airship taking us to mountain Glenn leaves in two hours," she said as she stood, "make sure to be ready by then."

With this she stood and quickly exited the cafeteria. Yin rolled her eyes, and with a brief farewell followed her sister.

Blake watched the two leave.

"There's something they're hiding," Blake muttered.

"yeah, but they're good people," Yang said as she too stood, "No better make sure everything is working with this arm. That's probably where Yin is headed too. Catch you two later."

Weiss and Blake said their farewells to Yang.

Only a few seconds passed before Wiess gave Blake a nudge. "Why don't you go talk with Yang?"

Blake paused, before nodding, she stood and headed out the door.

Weiss sighed, before standing herself. "Does she even know where Yang is going?" She asked.

Valkyrie approached Lie. He was looking around, as if to grasp exactly what had happened here.

"It reminds me of Valhalla." Lie said quietly.

Valkyrie had to agree. The building looked to have been towering skyscrapers at one point, but now, they were broken and crumbling. In truth, it reminded her a little of Vytal.

"Sometimes things don't last." Valkyrie said in a near whisper as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. She desired to bear hug the man, but it didn't seem fitting.

"Do you think she did this? Killed these people? Caused this shining city to become nothing more than a monument to despair?"

"I don't… if she did, it was with a good reason. She's trying to save people. You were the one who pointed that out."

Lie nodded. He glanced at his own hands. "I'm not sure I could do that. Kill innocent people, even f it was for the greater good," Lie turned to Valkyrie, "is this what Jaune feels like every time he must decide whether to act or not? Leave someone behind or risk everyone to save them?"

Valkyrie pursed her lips. "Jaune would understand." She said, the words felt hollow, but Lie seemed to believe them nonetheless. He nodded before pointing east.

"They're underground, call Cinder, we'll scout ahead, but they could always be trying to ambush us. I'd rather that didn't happen."

"Right," Valkyrie said, opening her scroll and sending cinder a quick, brusque message. Lie headed odd in the way he pointed, Valkyrie following quickly behind.

"What's the plan when we see him?" She asked.

"Knock him out." Lie replied, knowing exactly who she was talking about. "He's a brilliant strategist, and probably the most powerful. If Jaune gets the chance to coordinate them, Weiss could show up and I'd still doubt we'd win without losing anyone."

"Plus, that way our brave leader won't get hurt!" Valkyrie said, trying to put a positive spin on the fact that they were about to fight their friend without any real restraint.

"Then we drag them back to Salem. Figure out who else is in on this, and end this mess. Then we'll be able to sit down with Jaune and the others and explain why we did this."

"Do you think they'll understand?"

Lie nodded, "I don't think they will necessarily agree, but they'll understand why. We just have to convince them not to interfere, not to actively contribute."

"Will things be the same though? After all this? After what we've done?"

Lie grit his teeth, he had the same doubts. Had the same questions. Jauen and pyrrha were Family. And team RWBY was practically the same. He had doubts, but if he opened up about them, he was terrified he would crumble.

He shook his head free of those thoughts.

 _Jaune and Pyrrha are family, family sticks together, even if they mess up, even if they do something wrong._ He thought, comforting himself somewhat.

"I'm sure they will." He reassured her, desperately hoping that it was the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Barely got this one done on time. Really sorry about grammar or spelling errors. Hopefully things will mellow out next week and I'll finish the chapter ahead of schedule.
> 
> That being said, I'm starting to study for graduate school, the GRE is a nasty piece of work for me. My math abilities are not where they need to be and so studying is going to take up a lot of time. What does this mean? No, I'm not doing another hiatus. my release schedule might change for a few months, basically until I've got a decent enough score to apply to a good school. Otherwise things should continue as usual.
> 
> Now with that out of the way, have a great week, please leave any responses in the comments (seriously, even a brief comment is a joy to read), and if you happen to be a Beta interested in working on this story, please leave a message in the comments.
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> DeamonHunter


	37. A Violent Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I'm dreading the next few chapters. Big fight right around the corner and I'm terrified of it not being as epic as it is in my head. Too detailed and it'll drag on forever not detailed enough and it'll be bland. How do the pro's do it?
> 
> Well, into the Breach!

Ragnarok 37

Fenrir smiled as he returned from an ice cream parlor in town with several milkshakes. Two chocolates and a strawberry. One was for him, the other two for Nora and Ren. He was looking forward to sharing them. He imagined Nora's laugh of glee, and Ren's quiet, but telling, thanks. His smile grew as he found his friends reclining against a tree. As he drew closer it became clear that Nora was fast asleep. Laying her head in Ren's lap.

Fenrir made sure to tread quietly, lest he awaken the poor girl. Ren looked at him as he approached, a look of mild exasperation on his face. He smiled wearily as he accepted the outstretched chocolate milkshake.

Fenrir sat quietly beside them. Gently sipping at his milkshake through the straw. The wind blew in his face, reminding him of the necessity of a haircut as stray hairs briefly blocked much of his vision.

"We're meeting up with Ruby and Jaune in a couple of days, a week at most." Ren said quietly.

"I'm looking forward to meeting them in person," Fenrir replied honestly, "you and Nora talk about them so much I feel I almost know them already."

Ren nodded at that. "They are very important to us."

"Like a family you never had." Fenrir muttered, before taking another sip of his milkshake.

"Yes, I suppose they are," Ren agreed, " for the longest time I never thought of anyone but Nora as family, at least until I went to Beacon." He explained, brushing some hair away from Nora's face.

Fenrir was about to respond, having thought up something he thought would be especially poignant. Instead he paused, a familiar, and now dreaded scent wafting into his nostrils.

His wolf ears flicked, and the feeling in his chest, he recognized it.

"There's blood." He muttered, Causing Ren to tense. Fenrir stood as Ren gently woke Nora from her slumber.

_"And there is coming conflict."_ He thought as he heard the nearby town bell ringing. The bell sound was cut ominously short, even as smoke started to waft up from the dense forest surrounding the town. One glance at Ren and Nora and all three had a mutual agreement. The trio raced towards the smoke, prepared for whatever may come next.

But even with his friends beside him, Fenrir could not shove away the feeling that grew in his chest. It was cold and crushing. He remembered the feeling from what memories of past lives he had, it was a feeling that came to him whenever great conflict was about to arise. Once the thought would have thrilled him, now strangely, it filled him with fear.

" _Conflict is coming, but from where?"_

* * *

 

Lie and Valkyrie were in position. Glynda and her cabal had positioned themselves within a ruined building underground. It was a relatively safe position, as they had blocked off all paths large enough for the Grimm to get through. They hadn't expected gods however, and certainly not a Nora Valkyrie who knew how to be stealthy.

Lie and Valkyrie stood on top of the building's roof. It was wide, and the building itself looked more like a storage facility than an actual home. All the better for them, wide areas may benefit their opponents numbers, but if things went as planned, Arc would be removed from combat quickly, and the difference in power would quickly overwhelm the difference in raw numbers.

"Nora, Is Cinder in position?"

Valkyrie glanced her scroll, and quickly shook her head. "Three minutes, she and Mercury ran into some Grimm. They had to clear them out. Weiss doesn't seem to be able to influence the Grimm this far from her location."

Lie let out a hiss of frustration. Cinder fighting could attract attention, alert Glynda and the others to the fact that they were present. The annoyance quickly subsided as he reminded himself that plans never survived contact with the enemy, even if it was an unexpected enemy.

"Tell them they have four minutes; if they are not read, then we'll call this off."

Valkyrie looked aghast.

"We need the element of surprise to turn the tables. Qrow got away from us once, do you think we could handle him, Raven, Glynda, and Jaune as well as the other people in there?" Ren asked quietly.

Valkyrie shook her head, understanding his reasoning.

He looked down, wishing he could see through walls. While he could track and sense auras, identifying them was a different story entirely. He knew Qrow and his sister were in there, he could have heard the two arguing from a block away. He also knew Glynda and his leader, Jaune were there. They had been talking about the god who had tracked them.

However, the others were a mystery and that concerned him. Unknown variables that could cause their plan to fall apart at any moment. He was of half a mind to call the attack off, wait for the variables to leave, but the possibility that they were critical parts of the cabal they were chasing was too significant to ignore. If he let them leave, they may vanish, and persist in attempting to foil Weiss's plan for years to come.

"They're in position." Valkyrie said.

Lie nodded, pulling out his own scroll and made a call.

"What is it?" Salem asked, answering on the second ring.

"We're in position, you said we would have backup, where is it?"

"She's not there yet? Typical." Salem replied, only a faint hint of annoyance in her voice. "Start without her, once Cinder and Mercury are inside, I will have access to your location, if she doesn't show up, I will come myself."

"Understood. We'll contact you when we're done, prepare to have a lot of new prisoners."

"Very well, but if you must, you can kill them. Your lives take priority over theirs."

Ren nodded. 'understood," he replied.

"Ren? Nora?" Salem began.

"Yes?"

"Be safe."

Valkyrie grinned, Lie nodded.

The scroll call ended quickly.

"Nice to know she still cares."

"Was that ever in doubt? She's Weiss!" Valkyrie replied.

Ren wore a faint smile. He took a deep breath.

"In five." He said to Valkyrie. She nodded. Hefting her hammer well above her head.

Ren counted down, dropping a finger with every second. At the last second, he made a fist and slammed down.

"Now!" he shouted, as flames burst into the building.

* * *

 

-A few minutes prior-

Arc and Belladonna stood back as they watched the scene unfold. It was strange, strange in a way where one would generally think they were on mind altering substances. The only reasons the pair didn't believe they were, was because Glynda was standing next to them, observing with a mixture of horror and fascination at the proceedings.

The fascination was likely from the fact that those older and likely wiser were trying to impart what they had learned onto a younger group.

The fact that the teachers and the students looked exactly alike, as well as the uniformly negative reactions from said pupils was what added the horror to the mix.

"You need to talk to Yang! She's your daughter!"

"She's weak, the weak die, the strong live. Why should I coddle her!"

"You certainly haven't done a good job a training her! Did you even say goodbye or were you such a coward you left a note?" Branwen snarled at her Remnant self.

"I am no coward! I lead my tribe, my family! I keep them safe when they aren't up to the task!"

"You have a very warped sense of family. Killers and thieves are family, but your own blood isn't?"

"Like you have any reason to talk? Where is your daughter? Why isn't she with you? Did you coddle her? Leave her unprepared for the challenges she would face?" Raven sneered, the implication clear.

On the other side of the room, the two Qrows were discussing the benefits and drawbacks of heavy drinking in comparisons to orgies. Arc cringed, regretting his curiosity as to how the Vytalian Qrow had finally stopped drinking. The answer was not exactly what he thought it was.

"Look, I get why you stopped drinking, but having sex instead? That just seems like a recipe for disaster."

"Not really, It basically does the same thing, makes you forget about your failures. Difference is, you can stop having sex whenever you want, after you stop being drunk you have to deal with a hangover, neither of which is a good idea when you might have to fight at any time."

"I fight fine drunk"

"Until you don't, and then your best friend gets himself killed because you were too drunk to watch his back." The Vytalian Qrow warned, "Just like I did."

"Shit, I thought you wanted to convince me to stop drinking. Your making me want to drink more."

"Could you protect Ruby, Yang and Taiyang when your drunk? Sure, from what you've said they're talented, but could they really stop hordes of grim without some backup? Vytal had an entire army at Tai's back and he still got killed because there wasn't a single one able to keep up with him."

Remnant Qrow took a swig from his flask, a cheap one he had insisted Arc buy for him at the market. "Shit, you really think that could happen?" He looked devastated as he gazed at the flask as if it was a tiny Grimm.

Belladonna leaned over to Arc. "I'm not sure exactly what to think of all this. I knew talks like this would happen, but it's just…"

'Weird?" Arc supplied.

"I don't think that is sufficient."

"No, it probably isn't." Arc replied as he watched the two Ravens went from verbal sparring to a deadly silence and glares. A situation which was ominously familiar to the beginning of a serious fight.

"Do you think we should stop this?" Arc asked Glynda, not quite sure what to do in this situation. His training had prepared him for a lot of unlikely situations, the antics of RWBY and JNPR had prepared him for even more, but this was outside the realm of possibility.

Glynda shook her head. "I think it's best we leave them to it. And do our best to scrub the memory of these conversations from our mind."

Arc nodded. But shifted uncomfortably as he overheard one of Qrow's recent exploits. He glanced at Belladonna the goddess must have been even more uncomfortable. Her sensitive ears picking up every word regardless of what she wanted. '

"I think I need some fresh air." Belladonna said.

"But we're underground." Arc blurted out, pausing as he realized what she meant. "I think I'll tag along." He said as he turned to follow her.

Belladonna reached the door but refused to open it. Her eyes widened as her ears pricked up.

"Someone's here!" She shouted leaping away from the door and drawing her weapon.

'Now!" A muffled shout echoed.

Flames burst through the building as the roof caved in, a familiar hammer striking down. A blur of green flew in front of Arc as he attempted to draw his sword. Magenta eyes met blue, causing Arc to pause as he recognized his friend. He noticed Belladonna fly into a wall out of the corner of his eyes, She fell limply to the ground, her weapon skittering one side.

A heavy boot struck his head, making him see stars as he tumbled to the ground. He thought of Ruby and her sister coming arrival as a second strike knocked him unconscious.

* * *

 

At the same time, halfway across Remnant, Ruby, Yin, Yang, Weiss and Blake sat on an airship. The airship was fairly plain, designed to carry paladins, vehicles and the like rather than people. However, unencumbered by such a heavy load, the airship was undeniably faster than those designed to carry people. And through some sort of luck, the wind was on their side, allowing the flight time to be even briefer.

"There's an hour until we get close enough to Mountain Glenn to ride a bullhead to the landing zone." Weiss commented, checking her scroll to verify her calculations.

Response to her comment was minimal. Ruby grunted, and Yin nodded her head. Yang remained silent, examining her mechanical arm. Blake made no sign she had even heard Weiss, instead concentrating intently on her partner.

"Blake." Weiss said. Blake snapped to attention, her ears straightening as she turned towards Weiss.

"Yes?" She said a little too quickly.

'Did you hear me? We have a little over an hour until we reach the landing zone."

"Six hours has gone by that quickly?"

"Well, most of us got some sleep. We probably won't get much at Mountain Glenn. A recent report said that a large group of Grimm have moved into the area. We might be knee deep in Grimm for most of our time there."

"Better than being Schnee deep." Yang quipped, grinning at the two of them, apparently satisfied with her arm.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the pun. "This is serious. We don't know what to expect, or even have an exact location. Only the coordinates Ironwood was given."

"We'll deal with it when the time comes." Yang said.

"But having a plan wouldn't be a bad idea." Yin said, adding her voice to the conversation.

"But, if that group of Grimm moved in like you said they had," Yang argued, pointing at the scroll in Weiss' hand, "any plan will fall apart. Wouldn't it be better just to stick together rather than have some sort of big plan that blows up when something unexpected happens?"

Ruby sighed. "The best plans are simple Yang." She chided, "They work because even if something happens they can quickly adapt without causing other problems. Only a bad plan can't be changed."

She grinned. "Besides, sticking together is sort of a plan."

"And a Team RWBY specialty." Blake said.

Ruby and Yin gave each other a look.

"What?" Weiss demanded.

"We'd like to see it. Since you all split up by the time we came." Yin said in a challenging voice.

Both Yang and Blake shifted uncomfortably.

"That was one time! You can't use just one time to prove something!" Weiss retorted.

"Prove it Weiss -cream." Yin challenged with a grin. Her smile only growing as Weiss snarled back a retort.

Ruby smiled. It felt like old times and reminded her of her own team, back before everything else happened.

She let out a sigh of relief.

" _None of that would happen to the Team RWBY of Remnant."_

The thought gave her comfort. The threats to them were relatively minor. They would succeed where she, Yin, Weiss and Blake had failed. On Remnant, their team would be intact, and hopefully, this world's Ruby, unlike her, wouldn't have to feel the pain of losing her family to anything but old age.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, I still have quite a bit planned, so we probably aren't even halfway done. Kind of scary since this thing is now somehow the length of a (short) novel.
> 
> Please leave a comment, I love knowing what people think of the story.
> 
> And as always, if there is someone interested in beta-ing this, that position is open. Just saying.
> 
> Until next week!
> 
> Deamonhunter


	38. A Fight Under the Mountain

The heat of the flames wrapped around the building as Lie crouched low, dodging a blade of the scythe that would have taken his head off if he had not been more careful. A downward swing nearly sliced him in half even as he used the blades of Stormflower to halt the strike. He grinned as he pushed forward.

               “You are strong enough.” He whispered as he pushed upwards with a mighty shove. Vytalian Qrow leapt backwards and to one side as Lie opened fire, shredding a nearby wall. He charged towards Qrow noting Nora face off against one of the two Ravens as Cinder and Mercury clashed against Glynda, the other Raven and God Qrow.

               After a fierce kick caused Qrow to tumble back, Lie turned to Valkyrie. “Nora we’ll fight the Gods, let Cinder deal with the Hunters!”

               For most the order would have been shouted too quickly to be understood, but Valkyrie barely nodded before she disengaged and moved towards Lie.

               One of the Ravens pursued as the other broke off to support Glynda.

               “Qrows swap!” Glynda ordered as she danced away from one of Mercury’s kicks. Vytalian Qrow broke away from Lie and surged forward striking at Cinder, while the Remnant Qrow charged towards Lie and Valkyrie to support his sister.

               Lie took a deep breath as he parried Raven’s odachi. Ducking as Valkyrie struck back. Raven moving just enough to evade the strike. He had no time to reposition before Qrow’s blade struck down. Lie bent at an awkward angle to raise Stormflower to halt the strike.

               “Why are you doing this?” Qrow hissed.

               “If you gave me the time to explain I would!”      

               “Then stop!”

               “If only I could.” Lie replied, Knowing exactly what any rational fighter would do if his opponent stopped fighting. The perplexed expression on Qrow’s face causing Lie to nearly roll his eyes.

               Lie and Qrow broke away from each other as flames burst to life between them , Lie glanced towards Cinder, a scowl on his face. Glynda was pinned to a wall by several arrows and was struggling to free herself. But Raven appeared to be overpowering Mercury. Lie turned towards Qrow, the god stared back, his weapon transforming into its scythe form.

               “You’re getting serious.” Lie said.

               Qrow did not reply, instead charging forward with a shout.  His scythe hissing as it sliced through the air.

               Ren charged forward as well, firing as they drew closer.  He back stepped at the last moment, firing as the edge of the scythe missed him by less than the width of a finger. Qrow leapt sideways, out of the hail of bullets. He closed on Lie from the left Lie leapt into the air striking downwards. The bladed weapon met the blade of a scythe with a clang, Lie was pushed backwards, landing deftly on the cement floor. He frowned, this was taking longer than he desired.

               Valkyrie was having problems dealing with her opponent. With Belladonna and Arc out of the way, she didn’t have to hold back, she could unleash her full power. However, her opponent was being difficult, striking at her from a variety of angles. Valkyrie couldn’t maintain the distance she needed for the effective use of Magnahild.

               The red sword slashed near her, slicing a few strands of hair. Valkyrie swung her hammer, but Raven had already retreated outside the range of her attack.

               “That’s it!” Valkyrie shouted as electricity radiated off her skin. Grinning as Raven’s eyes widened in realization.

               The first bolts of lightning struck Raven in the chest. Shooting backwards she crashed into a nearby wall.  Nora allowed the wind and lightning to wrap around her. Lie had told her to spare who they could, but the element of surprise was gone, it was time to stop holding back.

               “Maiden!” The Remnant Qrow shouted as he evaded a burst of flame from Cinder.

               “On it!”  Another voice shouted as the Remnant Raven broke off from Mercury and struck at Valkyrie, lightning burst between them.

               “So you’re the Summer Maiden on Remnant?” Valkyrie asked, “let’s see whose stronger!”

               The Warhammer crashed down, Valkyrie grinned as Raven stepped back far enough for her to swap to a grenade launcher, firing three grenades in swift succession.

               “Nora!” Lie shouted.

               The explosions were powerful, and the building shook violently as bits of flooring and wall showered the combatants.

               Raven ignored the shouts, appearing from a portal behind Valkyrie.

               “Watch out!”

               Valkyrie turned in time to see the blade swing down. Crackling from the electrical energy of the Summer Maiden, Raven’s blade smashed into Valkyrie’s shoulder. Pain like lava coursed through her body, emanating from her shoulder. She buckled to one knee, releasing her grip on Magnahild. Raven’s electricity coursed through Valkyrie’s body.

                Valkyrie grinned.

               Raven did not hesitate to strike again, swinging down with her sword. She aimed to take Valkyrie’s head. Every nerve screamed for her to retreat as the faint outline of a grin appeared on her foe’s face. But she refused, overruling her body’s fear. Her blade swung down, aiming to end the fight in an instant. She did not notice the rising fist until it was too late.

               The fist smashed into the flat side of her blade, warping it quickly. The blade screeched as it cracked and gave in as the upper third broke off. Red eyes widened in shock as a fist struck her in the stomach with a force she had never experienced.

               In a flash the course of the duo’s battle had changed. Raven, once having the initiative, could not keep up with the rain of blows. Her strength was not enough to deflect the blows of her opponent. Even as she concentrated lightning into her arms.

               “Raven! Stop the lightning, it only makes her stronger!” Glynda shouted. Watching as her ally was forced off her feet by a left hook, crashing into the ground with a dazed look in her eyes. Glynda yanked an arrow from her shoulder, blood poured from the wound, but she ignored it as she reached out with her semblance.

               The tug on Valkyrie’s leg was the first indication that something was off. Valkyrie looked at her leg quizzically, before her expression turned to shock as she was lifted of the ground by the offending limb. Glynda smiled, as Valkyrie began to flail, one hand scrabbling at the ground as the other tried to keep her skirt in place.

               “No you don’t!” Mercury challenged as he charged forward. But before he could reach Glynda the God Raven intercepted him, smashing him into the ground with a single fist. She then turned and charged at Lie. Valkyrie gasped as she was hurled into the ceiling, smashing through it and continuing upwards. Glynda released her semblance as she fended off Cinder. Remnant’s Qrow appeared beside her.

“This doesn’t look good for us.” He said

“Stay calm Qrow. Help is on the way.” She replied.

               Across the battlefield, Lie was growing uncomfortable with the course of the battle. He was not the tactician that Arc was, and this situation was hairy. The element of surprise should have been enough, but he hadn’t anticipated the two Branwen’s being with their Remnant counterparts. Facing the _just_ the Branwen’s, Odin’s personal scouts, would have made him hesitate and think of calling off the attack. Facing them and their Remnant copies was probably putting Lie and his group in over their heads.

               Now, to make the situation even worse, the Vytalian God and Goddess were double teaming him. He was exceptionally skilled at holding off his opponents, but the hard truth was that it was only a matter of time before his defense gave under their attacks. He was simply holding off the inevitable.

               A foot broke through his guard, grazing his shoulder and throwing him off balance.

               “Sorry for this!” Qrow shouted as he raised his scythe. Lie prepared for the deathblow.

               “Move!” The Vytalian Raven shouted, quite literally kicking her brother in the ribs, shoving him out of the way of a small cane sword’s blade.

               A petite girl with pink and brown hair appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She smiled as she spun her blade. She pointed at Lie and then Raven before immediately charging after Qrow.

               “ _Better late than never.”_ Lie thought, comforted by the fact that Salem’s backup had finally arrived, as he turned to face his foe.

               His strikes at Raven were deflected with disturbing ease. He retreated and unleashed a burst of gunfire, causing Raven to scramble for cover.

               Lie got a moment to breathe, as he too moved towards cover. He glanced around, trying to locate Valkyrie. The two of them had a chance if they were able to team up. He felt his heart pound as he realized she was not in the building. What had happened to her?

               Valkyrie crashing back through the roof answered Lie’s question. Even as she crashed into the ground with a groan, Lie’s immediate thought was of the ceiling. He glanced up, and he felt the panic rise again.

               The steel pylons holding up the roof creaked and groaned as the roofing warped, threatening to give way at any moment.

               Lie swore as he grabbed Nora. Rushing to pull her up.

               “Raven.” She coughed.

               Ren glanced at the downed mortal. She had pushed herself to her knees but likely had one hell of a concussion.

               Lie paused, his conscience warring inside his head.

Maybe he could reach her in time. Maybe he could pull her out, maybe her rescue would give them all a pause in the fighting, let himself and Valkyrie explain their motives, maybe convince Glynda and her Cabal that as horrible as their actions might seem, they were the least severe of a host of poor options.

But then he’d have to gamble that Valkyrie, not in much better shape than raven herself, could make it out of the building in time.

Lie made his decision.

               He dragged Valkyrie to her feet and pulled her out of the building as the ceiling fell in. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the shock on Valkyrie’s face. The widened eyes and gaping mouth, showing the concern that came so naturally to her, before she looked away from the building in shame.

               Ren put her down, as Cinder, wreathed in flames appeared in the corner of his vision, Neo skipping beside her. Mercury, however, was nowhere to be found.

               “Is it over?” Cinder asked, breathing heavily.

               Lie was about to respond as the ruins of the ceiling burst in all directions, as if thrown aside by a blast. Lie was confronted by the image of Qrow cradling an unconscious Raven, their god counterparts, kneeling on the ground and glaring daggers at them. Glynda stood, blood flowing freely from her forehead, her left shirtsleeve stained red.

               “No Cinder, I don’t think so.” Lie muttered with a curse.

               Next to him Valkyrie sighed, clutching her ribs as she rose to her knees, her hammer nowhere to be found.

               “Are Jaune and Blake under there?” She asked, gazing at the ruined building.

               “They’re fine.” Lie said, hoping that it was true. The two of them had been knocked unconscious, but still had quite a bit of aura left, surely a falling ceiling wouldn’t have killed them.

               He had no time to confirm before he had to scramble out of the way of flying debris, the cracking and breaking of stone against stone reminding him of how deadly the woman was, even if she was badly wounded.

               “Cinder! Cover!” He shouted. Cinder made no reply as she unleashed flames on the woman.

               The flames were batted aside as a massive eagle appeared. Lie could only curse as wings easily the size of a small building buffeted away the flames.

               “ _Qrow’s semblance_ ” he thought ruefully. Few gods had the power to transform, but those that did generally could transform into massive creatures. Fortunately, Qrow wouldn’t be very mobile underground, his sheer size stopping him from moving or flying anywhere. Nevertheless, the wind generated by those wings would certainly negate any of Cinder’s attacks.

               “Don’t charge in!” Lie ordered as he saw Cinder drawing her blades. She ignored him only to find that the wings were far faster than she would have expected. Qrow’s wings drew her into a crushing embrace releasing her before smashing her into a pile of rubble with the swipe of a wing.

               Lie could only curse as he saw what was happening. Mercury was missing, Cinder was likely incapacitated. Valkyrie was injured and he was exhausted. The only one fully capable of fighting in their current state was Neo. And she couldn’t fend them all off alone.

               To make the situation worse, both god Branwen’s seemed tired, but uninjured, Qrow had only mild injuries, and Glynda, while badly injured was not out of the fight. At least Arc and Belladonna were not awake.

               Could they win? Should he order a retreat?

               _“What would Jaune do?”_  He asked himself, thinking of his friend and leader.

               He sighed as he reloaded Stormflower. He imagined Arc would come up with some wild plan that shouldn’t work, but by a mix of skill, teamwork and a heavy helping of luck, would. Unfortunately, he wasn’t Arc. He had an idea, but it was one he was reluctant to use. It was a strategy JNPR would fall back on if everything went to hell, a strategy Jaune had somewhat unintentionally invented in the heat of the moment. The first part, and currently the most challenging, to get Valkyrie her weapon.

               And then blast this entire place down upon his foes, sift through the rubble and drag them back to Salem. He glanced at Valkyrie, who had sought cover. She nodded to him and then to Neo.

               Neo smiled before giving a slight nod, she skipped back a step, her image shattering into a thousand pieces.

               Ren looked at Valkyrie quizzically, Valkyrie smiled and nodded. Lie’s heart warmed a little. It was nice that at least one of his friends had complete faith in him.

               Lie glanced at the building, the hammer resting near some rubble, likely uncovered by Glynda’s attack. He took a deep breath, prayed Neo would help rather than watch them get slaughtered, and leapt out from behind cover.

 

* * *

 

               Salem watched the Battle at Mountain Glenn through a screen of frosted ice. It was a perk of having a portion of the powers of Yggdrasil. Some part of it lived inside her, like a parasite, but in turn, she gained a variety of powers. Including the ability to see what some of her allies if said ally had a glyph mark.

               Convincing Neo to be marked was not easy, but promises of vengeance for Roman were able to sway her. This world’s Ruby was of little importance to her. Ruby Rose, Remnant huntress, was entirely expendable.

               Lie and Valkyrie, her friends however, were not.

Salem frowned as she saw how the battle was evolving. The odds of victory were not good. And she gritted her teeth as she realized that Lie would not retreat until it was perfectly clear their side could not win.

               The fact that Cinder was being openly insubordinate did not please her either. Cinder had done it before, and her failures at Beacon had caused dire consequences. The fact that a huntress with silver eyes had appeared had caused complications; admittedly minor ones, but unnecessary complications none the less.

               Perhaps it was time to cut those ties. Denying Ozpin, the power of the Fall maiden had been her main goal, whether she had the maiden power, or it belonged to some random brat was of little importance as long as Ozpin’s- now Glynda’s- cabal were unable to have it.

               Lie and Valkyrie were valuable allies, not to mention dear friends. Glynda turned from the screen, reaching out with her mind, she sent Neo a message. Within moments the petite woman appeared before her.

               Salem strode over to a chest she kept in the corner of her room.  She opened it quietly, drawing the rapier inside. She had designed it years ago, but rarely had much need for it.

               The rapier was almost an exact replica of Myrtenaster. However, the hilt was black, and the blade was a deep blood red. She spun the revolving dust canisters experimentally, checking the Multi Action dust revolver still worked. She may have cleaned and maintained it regularly, but that was no reason to risk the weapon failing in battle. There was no excuse for carelessness.

               “Nocturne,” Salem muttered, running a hand down the flat of the blade, “it has been a long time.” She turned and faced Neo, her eyes narrowed and face stern.

               “Take me to them.” Salem commanded.

               Neo nodded with a smile. She held out a gloved hand which Salem took without a word.

               The two women vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, fight scenes are incredibly hard for me, so the next one might take a while as well. Hopefully you enjoyed it.
> 
> Also, Salem's after is named after the type of musical composition . According to Wikipedia, a Nocturne is a musical composition which evokes the night, I thought it was fitting.


	39. Witching Hour at Mountain Glenn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later than usual, and no likely chance to return to my old weekly schedule in sight. I have family visiting next week, so odds are the next chapter will also take two weeks, sigh...

Witching Hour at Mountain Glenn

               Ruby gazed out of the bullhead’s window. Her foot tapped against the ground as she stroked Crescent rose in her lap. The gesture comforting her somewhat. She was annoyed the nervous habits he had developed years ago remained, but her thoughts were far from her, residing with those in mountain Glenn.

               A red light started to blink as the bullhead’s engine roared to life.

               “By some good luck the Grimm hordes are leaving an area we were going to have to pass through to get the designated Landing Zone.” Blake said as she sat down, buckling herself in, “we’ll land there instead, and travel on foot to the meeting point. It is closer to the meeting point anyway.”

               Weiss nodded. “How long is our flight?”

               “Only ten minutes rather than the half hour that was expected.” Blake explained.

               Yin smiled, “things seem to be going our way.” She said lightly.

               Ruby frowned things were going too well in her mind. Why had the Grimm moved? There shouldn’t have been anything to pull them away from the area. Unless there was a fight going on somewhere, a fight with immense amount of negativity…

               “Let’s get there quickly,” Ruby said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

               Yin looked at her cautiously, but said nothing.

               The jolt of the bullhead accelerating jarred them all. As Weiss and Yang scrambled to stay in their seats, Ruby kept eye contact with her sister. A silent conversation translating concern. But Yin saw something far more worrying than simple concern.

               She saw fear.

 

* * *

               Lie felt the blood pump through his legs, his focus tunneling until he could only see the hammer he was sprinting towards. He bound over rubble with ease, ignoring the shouts from his foes, several of whom could do nothing to stop him.

               Glynda was desperately struggling to keep the roof from collapsing on top of her allies, even as she also moved debris out of the way. Remnant’s version of Qrow was trying to do first aid on his sister. God Raven was in the middle of dragging Arc and Belladonna out of the rubble, both were, fortunately, still unconscious. This left Qrow Branwen, Vytalian god, still in bird form, to stop him.

               The massive wing arced through the air, threatening to blow Lie off his feet. He shifted his weight, hoping it would keep him balanced as he neared Magnahild. His lungs burned even as his legs screamed from being pushed so far above their limits. He ran faster than he could have thought possible. His vision narrowed even further. The sound of wind and screams vanished, only the crunch of rubble under his feet was audible to him.

               He grinned as his hand wrapped around Magnahild. The Warhammer was cold, and Lie could only joke that it clearly missed its user. He turned knowing that Valkyrie had likely already left cover to try to close the distance between the two of them.

               With gritted teeth and a near-bestial roar, he flung the hammer into the air. He instinctively knew that the weapon would travel no more than a few feet, he was too exhausted, his aura far too drained, to use all his potential strength.

               He tracked the swirling Warhammer with his eyes. The world around him slowed, allowing him to absorb the scene before him.  Vytalian Qrow had reverted to his human form, shouted something to his sister, and rushed after the hammer, desperate to intercept it. Lie wondered if Qrow knew what they were up to, but cast the thought away, soon, it would not matter.  He didn’t notice as Vytalian Raven tore open a portal and leapt through.

               Lie grinned as Valkyrie closed in on the rapidly descending Warhammer. A gunshot rang out, a metallic ring rang less than a second later, the hammer suddenly changing trajectory. Lie’s breath caught in his throat.

 “ _Someone must have fired a bullet”_ he thought as he pushed himself forwards, forcing is aching body, already exhausted and drained, to continue to move.  He pushed himself forward, Valkyrie had diverted herself, rushing after Magnahild as it struck the ground with a spray of debris. Vytalian Qrow was pursuing Magnahild as well, undoubtedly looking to stop Valkyrie from regaining her weapon.

Lie’s eyes narrowed, noting that Qrow had abandoned his weapon in favor of speed. He surged forward, closing in on Qrow. Lie leapt at the last moment, grinning as recognition shown in Qrow’s eyes. The surprise as the gods tumbled in a tangle of limbs was something Lie would not soon forget.

               Lie kneed Qrow in the gut, a satisfying grunt of pain coming from Qrow’s throat. Sharp pain radiated from his back as Qrow rammed his elbow between Lie’s spine and shoulder blade even as his other hand went for Lie’s eyes. Lie instinctively reared his head back, nimbly avoiding getting one of his eyes gouged out, but left himself open for a brutal headbutt to the face. Lie heard an audible crunch as blood poured from his nostrils. He ignored it as he struggled to regain his lost grip on Qrow. The god shoved Lie off. Thrusting an elbow into Lie’s stomach for good measure, before pushing himself upwards.

               Even as the world swayed before him, the boom emanating from a grenade blast could be heard clearly. Lie could only grin. It was music to his ears.

* * *

Ruby and company leapt from the bullhead. Landing nimbly on the ground below them.

               Blake glanced around. “The meeting area is about a mile that way.” She said pointing towards a wooded area.

               “I’ll scout ahead.” Ruby said quickly, vanishing in a burst of petals. She returned only moments later. Petals fluttered around her as she stopped, her hair frizzy and her pony tail almost undone.

               “You said the meeting point was a giant statue near a fountain, right?” She asked Blake.

               Blake nodded, “that’s right.”

               “Well, there’s nobody there. I even checked the nearby buildings. I found nothing.”

               “We’re early, aren’t we? Maybe they simply haven’t arrived.” Yang proposed.

               “That is a possibility,” Blake conceded, “but it’s unlikely. Raven runs a bandit tribe, shed have a scout waiting for us to notify her of our arrival. They don’t have scroll reception, which means we can’t tell them when we arrive.”

               Yin nodded, “is it possible that something came up?” she asked. “Perhaps there was an outbreak of Grimm. That horde moved quickly, something had to cause that. Perhaps a fight broke out underground and that attracted the Grimm.”

               Yang frowned, the possibility of that was high, but part of her worried that perhaps her mother had, once again, vanished without a trace.

               “Yin has a good point. Perhaps we should head to the meeting spot. Raven can make portals, at worst, they had to leave, and Raven can inform us of that later.” Weiss pointed out. The others nodded in agreement.

               The group headed down into the ruins of mountain Glenn. Their pace was faster than a gentle walk but not quite a jog. Wary glances passed between the group as they headed deeper into the cityscape. Ruby and Yin shifted uncomfortably as they looked at the surrounding ruins, the crumbled buildings before them reminding the sisters of another, disturbingly familiar world.

               The group halted when they arrived at what could have once been a main plaza. The stone slabs beneath their feet were cracked a worn, claw marks etched across its surface. But those small hints that the creatures of Grimm dwelled here were nothing compared to the fountain.

               Even Weiss had to admit the fountain had once been a thing of beauty, it still stood but the statue in the middle was damaged beyond recognition. Perhaps it had once been an angel, an outstretched stone lump, that could have been a wing, was attached to a distorted body, its original form lost to the ages and the constantly advancing Grimm.

               The fountain itself was a wide circular ring, while clawed and chipped it still contained water, stagnant and reeking. Weiss looked at it warily, and felt the distinct desire to leave as soon as possible. Blake’s scrunched face revealed she felt similarly.

               “There’s nobody here. Not even any Grimm.” Yang commented as she kicked some loose stones with a boot.

               “Let’s set up camp.” Weiss proposed, hating the idea but seeing it as the best option. “Many of these buildings could work as lookouts, we can stay the night, if no one shows up, we can call Ironwood for retrieval.”

               Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but the words caught in her throat. Her eyes widened as she rapidly drew her weapon, aiming Crescent Rose at a portal swirling into existence behind Yang.

               “Out of the way!” Yin shouted grabbing Weiss by the arm.

               Yang wiped around, weapon at the ready. A figure tumbled out, her raven hair blinding Yang for a moment.

               The woman regained her balance, gasping for breath as she raised her head.

               Yang stared. She looked just like she did in the picture! So, this was her mother. The one who had ran out on her, abandoned her and dad to run a group of thugs.

               Rage boiled within Yang. She wanted to scream out, but she held herself in check. At least for now.

               “Raven.” Yin said coldly, her arms crossed. She glared at this woman frostily. Yang paused. Was this Yin’s mother? The Vytalian Raven?

               “We need to go. They’re in trouble.” Raven said, pointing back at the portal.

               Ruby did not need to be told twice. She charged on through vanishing as she passed through the portal. Blake followed quickly. With Weiss, barely a foot behind her. Yang and Yin stood staring at Raven.

               Raven’s concern soon turned to irritation. “What are you waiting for? Knight-Commander Arc and your friend are in trouble!” She snapped.

               _“Well that answers that question.”_ Yang thought, appraising the Vytalian Raven with a new eye. Her rage had mostly dissipated, but she knew it would be back with a vengeance when she laid eye son her own mother.

               Yin however, felt like her limbs were made of lead.

               “Blake’s here?” She asked, her thoughts racing. How? Why? She didn’t know. Did Jaune capture her? What was going on?

               “There’s no time,” Raven shouted, “hurry up!”

               A firm grip on Yin’s wrist snapped her out of her stupor; Yin looked to see lilac eyes gazing into her own.

               “We need to hurry.” Yang said. Her voice was gentle, but the words and meaning firm. Yin nodded numbly as she allowed Yang to pull her to the portal, and then through it.

 

* * *

               Lie could only stare and grind his teeth in frustration. This place should have crumbled but instead, it had held. Valkyrie had started her barrage of the supports, well aimed grenades causing them to crumble like cookies. But no sooner had Valkyrie blasted one to bits, then Glynda had repaired another, using her telekinesis to fit all the pieces back in place.

               The only way to stop Glynda without killing her, Lie had soon realized, was to turn those supports into a fine powder. An impossible task under the present circumstances. To make matters worse, he was nearly certain Valkyrie was out of grenades.

               And then he had discovered why Raven had left.  He rolled onto his stomach, struggling to push himself up. He raised his head to shout something to Valkyrie. Only to see a red portal appear before her. He screamed a warning. Only to find a familiar face appearing from the portal.  He watched as the familiar scythe gun knocked Magnahild from an equally surprised Valkyrie’s hands.  Valkyrie, now disarmed, massively outnumbered, and surrounded, raised her hands in surrender.

               Even as Remnant’s versions of Blake and Weiss followed her out, with two Yang’s following less than half a minute behind, Lie could still hardly believe his eyes.

               One of the yang’s walked over to him.

               ‘Ren?” She asked. Yin glanced down at her friend, he looked worse for the wear. He was clearly exhausted, a black eye and swollen lip testament to a brutal, and uncharacteristically physical, fight.

               He looked up. “Yes Yang?” he asked weakly.

               “What the hell?” She asked.

               “I think I bit off, a little more than I could chew.” He muttered, taking deep breaths as he did. His mind raced to find a way out of this. Where the hell was Neo?

               “You think?” She asked.

               “Raven!” Vytalian Qrow shouted as his sister stumbled out of her own portal. He grasped her by the shoulders.

               “I’m fine Qrow.” She said brusquely, waving off his concern with an irritated huff. “Make sure those two are unarmed. We can’t have them starting this fight again.”

               Yin looked at him. “You guys started this fight?” She asked, her tone hinting at a feeling of betrayal.

               “It’s more complicated than it seems.” He said. The look of disbelief on her face did little to comfort him. In fact, it hurt. It hurt that a friend of his, not one as close as his teammates, but a friend nonetheless, did not believe him.

               Yin kneeled and rested a hand on his shoulder “You’ll have time to explain.” She said.

               He glanced at Nora, who had her hands held out, eyes downcast. He almost didn’t notice the glint of steel.

               “Move!” he shouted, giving Yin’s wrist a yank as a blade whipped past her ear. The goddess jerked out of the way just in time.

Ren rolled away from Yang, shaving himself onto unsteady feet.

               Neo stood, but next to her was Salem. A red blade in her hands.

               Everyone stared. Some in wonder, some in fear, at the pale, Grimm-like figure in front of them. She stood tall and proud, a look of distaste on her face as she observed the battlefield. When Neo’s eyes fell on Ruby, the mute girl made to move, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Salem, the fear clear on Neo’s face.

               “Get Ren and Nora out of here.” She ordered, “I will… delay these ones.”

               Neo nodded, vanishing with Lie in tow.

               “Who are you?” Vytalian Qrow snarled.

               “She’s Salem, queen of the Grimm.” Remnant Raven replied. She was standing once again, but seemed in no shape to actually do battle.

               Salem gave an almost mocking curtsy “I’m pleased you know of me.” She said. She pointed her rapier at Raven.

               “Now, I’m going to assume, that regardless of my opinion on the matter, you wish to fight.” Salem said with a smile.

               While Glynda, Both Qrows and Remnant Raven seemed itching to fight. Yin glanced at Salem. There was something Unnervingly familiar about her, the way she acted her weapon was incredibly similar to Weiss’. Yin shook the thought that appeared in her head away. Weiss would never do what Salem was accused of doing. She glanced at Ruby, he was splitting her attention between Nora and Salem.

               “You don’t… want to fight?” Weiss asked incredulously.

               “Of course not.” Salem said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I could certainly defeat all of you, but it would take time and effort that I’d rather expend in other ways.” She glanced at the group.

               “besides, even if you have several Vytalian gods on your side. One is exhausted, another injured, and two of the other four are unconscious.” Salem pointed out, “perhaps, it would be best for everyone if we called this a draw, licked our wounds and fought again another day.”

               Salem glanced at Ruby, who, despite not being in charge, would hold a great amount of sway over the outcome of this altercation. She felt her heart swell as she looked into Ruby’s silver eyes. She hoped she would not have to fight. The very thought made her stomach churn. Salem resisted biting her lip in discomfort. In all honesty, she didn’t think she could fight her former comrades.

               Surprisingly, it was Glynda who spoke first.

               “That idea has some merit.” She said, ignoring the shocked looks on her allies’ faces.

               Salem smiled. “Well then I will take my allies and leave.”

               “Nora Valkyrie stays with us.” Glynda said.

               Salem turned her head, gazing at where she knew cinder lay.

               “Valkyrie…” She pretended to muse, as she turned back to Glynda. “I think not.” She said, smiling as she noted the air around Valkyrie crack.

               In a flash Neo appeared, striking out with her parasol. She quickly grabbed ahold of Valkyrie and before anyone could attack, vanished with her.

               Ruby was the first to react, spinning back toward Salem. Salem could see the rage in her eyes.  She ignored one of the Qrow’s firing at her, spinning so the round flew harmlessly past her. She took a defensive position as Ruby surged forward. Salem saw rage in those eyes, and it saddened her. To her pleasure, she watched as Ruby’s rage to turned to shock as she was grabbed from behind.

               “What the hell are you doing?” Ruby snarled at her sister, struggling to free herself from Yin’s grip.

 Yin’s eyes narrowed. She shook her head. Ruby slumped slightly. A sigh of defeat leaving her throat.

In the meantime, Salem curiously observed, nobody had struck. It seemed that Glynda’s group understood they were no match for her alone. Certainly, they had evaded her time and time again, but that was mostly due to a desire on Salem’s to avoid attracting attention from Vytal. An outburst of power from a being that could be mistaken for a Grimm would certainly attract the wrong sort of attention, and could even result in the deployment of the gods, which would only make achieving her goal of interdimensional balance more difficult, and much bloodier.

Now, with the gods already here, she had no need to hold back, and Glynda, perhaps through some preternatural instinct, knew it.

                “As a consolation prize, you may have Cinder and her underling. Her insubordination has grown tiresome.” Salem said, noting a familiar crackling behind her.

               Neo appeared, a scowl on her face.

               “We’re leaving Neo.” Salem said firmly. Neo frowned, but a single glare ended any real resistance. Neo nodded, giving a wink, the two women seemed to shatter into nothingness.

               “Well, that was a thing.” Yang said.

               “Shut up Yang.” Ruby snapped, before returning her fiery glare to Yin.

               “Why’d you stop me?” She asked a moment later, silver eyes glaring expectantly at her sister.

               Yin looked her sister in the face.

               “A person who looks like a Grimm? Please tell me you didn’t totally forget why we came her in the first place.”

               Ruby paused, before recognition came to her. “You think that was Fenrir?”

               “It is a reasonable possibility. She was called the queen of the Grimm after all.” Weiss pointed out.

               Ruby paused, before shrugging off her sister’s hand. “Let’s talk about this later, I’m gonna go check on Jaune and Blake. Are you coming?”

               Yin nodded eagerly, ignoring the pit in her stomach. Perhaps Ruby hadn’t seen Salem’s weapon, or some of her mannerisms. They were eerily familiar.

               Yin shook her head, rushing off after her sister. There was time to contemplate the impossible later.

               After all, it was impossible, right?

 

              

 


	40. Rest Awhile and Listen

Arc awoke abruptly, His heart pounding as he sluggishly looked cat his gaze at his surroundings. His eyes fell on a girl in Jeans and a red jacket, her hair tied in a ponytail. She sat on the ground with her legs crossed, her hands resting on her lap.

"Glad you're finally up. Had a good nap?" The girl chirped in a familiar voice.

"Ruby?" he asked. His mind was still racing to catch up. He shifted, grimacing as the pain in his head returned. He groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Be careful, Raven says you probably have a concussion, Ren and Nora weren't holding back when they knocked you out."

That got Arc's attention. He grunted as he dug through his memory. The flash of Black and pink hair, the magenta eyes. It all came flooding back to him. Arc grit his teeth, wanting to scream but knowing it wouldn't help.

"Where are they?" He asked, an undertone of anger and betrayal in his voice.

"We don't know. They got away," Ruby said as she reached out and gently pushed Arc back to the ground from his sitting position, "you need rest, there'll be plenty of time to talk about it later. And Qrow has an interesting theory about why they're working with Fenrir."

"They're working with Fenrir?" Jaune asked, the information causing his heart to pound once again.

Ruby shrugged. "They're working with a pretty scary woman, we think she's Fenrir."

"But you're not sure?"

Ruby shook her head, "she called herself Salem. But that's probably an alias." She stood dusting off her jeans.

"Get some rest, I'll come back later." She said. Arc nodded, not saying a word as his friend left. He closed his eyes, and sleep quickly claimed him.

* * *

 

Ruby closed the door behind her. They were above ground in mountain Glenn now, stowed in a building near the fountain which had been their intended meeting point. It was a defensible place, tall, with a winding staircase which could be easily held. As long as they kept someone on watch to make sure the Grimm didn't start scaling the walls, Arc and Belladonna could get their much needed rest.

"And fuck you too!" A voice, clearly Yang, snapped as a door slammed shut. Ruby glanced up, judging the voice came from a few floors above her. She sighed shaking her head as she did so. She walked up the stairs, passing by Yang, who stomped downstairs, the wooden staircase creaking beneath her feet with every step. Ruby gave her a pitying glance, before silently continuing her way up. She'd ask Yin to talk to Yang later. Ruby was had bigger concerns than Yang's abandonment problem, but leaving that mess unsettled was a good way to make it into something much worse. She preferred having a roof over her head thank you very much.

She hopped over a missing step and landed on wooden floorboards, a quick turn led to a hallway where she and Yin slept, their makeshift beds still unmade from the morning. Ruby approached the room at the end of the hall. She went to open the door before pausing, deciding better of it, she knocked first. The door opened quickly, her sister's mane of hair blocking the rest of the room, darkened as it was.

"Hey Rubes, we were just talking about you!" Yin said, the cheerfulness in her voice a little forced.

Ruby did her best to give a genuine smile. She wanted to run, leave the room an never return, never see the red eyes that would bore into her the minute she entered.

She stepped in. And Yin shut the door behind her.

"Hey Blake." Ruby said her voice quiet and a little shy.

"Hello Ruby." Belladonna said, her lips turned into a smile, "it's been awhile."

Ruby nodded, slumping in a nearby chair. She rubbed her forehead.

"Yeah it has." She mumbled.

Yin glanced back and forth between the two. Her eyes showing concern, but also a hint of relief. Clearly there wouldn't be an execution today.

"Well, at least we're not fighting this time." Yin said, trying to add some levity to the situation.

Ruby's mood darkened. Her expression hardened as she looked Blake in the eyes. "Why did you run? Why did you break out?" She asked.

"You're mother asked me to." Belladonna replied.

Ruby's mouth dropped open, as Yang stared at Blake dumbfounded.

"There is no way that the Head-Commander would be able to release you without Ozpin's authorization," Ruby said firmly.

"She hacked the security systems in my prison cell, then left me some clothes and Gambol Shroud." Blake said with a shrug, as if that explained everything that had happened.

Ruby groaned "Even if that is true, you tried to escape; step foot in Vytal and they'll kill you."

"I know." Belladonna said with a nod.

"Then why the hell did you do it?" Yin asked quietly. Her body shuddering as she asked, in sadness or rage she didn't know. She felt unsteady, barely able to contain a scream.

Belladonna turned to look at her, her face was blank, as if the answer should have been supremely obvious.

"You're my family. I'm not going to let you go after Fenrir alone."

Silence reigned as Yang walked over to Belladonna and wrapped her in a bear hug. She shuddered as she let out a sob. Yin clung tightly to Belladonna, who in turn wrapped her arms around Yin. Ruby watched silently for a few moments.

Quietly, Ruby stood. "Let's talk later. I think I need some air." She said quickly. Yin didn't react but Belladonna nodded in understanding as she stroked Yin's hair.

Ruby quietly left, closing the door behind her. Only after the door had closed din yin glance at Belladonna.

"Do you think…"

"I think she needs some time, it's nothing bad." Belladonna comforted.

Yin glanced down, and sighed. "I've missed this." She admitted, "I've missed us."

Belladonna gave her a quick peck on the lips, gazing up into lilac eyes, she smiled.

"I've missed us too."

* * *

 

Ruby exited the group's hideout without a word. She headed down the ruined streets, observing the crumbling structures around her. It reminded her of Valhalla. She had only been to Valhalla twice, once with her mother, and once as part of a school field trip. Valhalla was a reminder of what would happen to other world's if the gods failed to act, and reminder that they were not infallible, omnipotent beings. More powerful than most, yes, but invincible? Not at all.

It was not long before she ran across her first Grimm. The arcing blade of her scythe struck down quickly, the Ursa collapsing, its life draining from it without any understanding of what had happened. Ruby grimaced, the Ursa was weak, she needed a bigger challenge.

She thought back to Belladonna, rage boiling inside her. She screamed, slamming a foot into the wall of a building. The wall cracked and crumbled beneath the force of her blow.

_It's not fair! Why does Blake have to be treated this way! It's clear that she's not insane._

Ruby blamed herself. She imprisoned Belladonna after she was supposedly corrupted, she made sure Belladonna stayed there. She was the one who thought Belladonna was under Fenrir's control. It was clear that wasn't the case. Summer Rose wouldn't have released her if it was.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Ruby wondered as she slammed a fist into the wall, causing more of the building to begin to buckle.

"I'm her daughter, and yet she doesn't trust me in the slightest." Another blow caused the building to start to give way. The small house collapsed on itself. The sound hopefully attracting plethora of Grimm.

_But if she had told me Blake was fine, that she could have been released, would I have believed her?_ Ruby wondered.

After Weiss died she had been a stickler for the rules. She had rationalized it, thought it was keeping her team safe. Instead, Ruby had used it as a crutch to stop herself from making decisions. "Hard choices? What does the Rulebook say?" It had caused friction in her team. Friction which had led to Belladonna being alone when Yang should have been with her. Belladonna had been corrupted as a result. And indirectly, that was Ruby's fault too.

Ruby let out a wail. The sound echoing far and wide, drowned out only by a horde of Grimm charging to their deaths. Ruby watched the oncoming horde, reading her scythe. She leapt into the thick of the pack without a word.

Ruby returned after dark had fallen. Arc was still sleeping, but Yin and Belladonna were waiting for her. Blake gazed at her, the deep frightening red eyes glowed in the darkness, but the expression was one of concern.

"Did you find an answer?" She asked. Ruby shook her head.

"I wasn't looking for one."

Yin opened her mouth to speak, but Belladonna placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yin, could you give me and Ruby some time?" She asked. Yin nodded.

"I'll be upstairs." She said, marching up the stairs quickly.

Blake turned back to Ruby. "So, what were you looking for?"

Ruby paused taking a deep breath. "Just a way to forget, forget the mess I've created for a little while."

Belladonna cocked an eyebrow. "And what mess would that be?"

Ruby practically let out a strangled laugh. Her calm demeanor rapidly crumbling.

"Everything I've done, everything, was to keep my family safe. Keep Yin safe, keep JNPR safe, keep you safe. By the rules, that was supposed to be the best way to keep everyone alive. Instead, I drive away JNPR, I hurt my sister and I lock you up in prison!" Ruby could feel the tears drip down her eyes.

"I… I thought I had things sorted. But now, now I don't know. Everything is going wrong. Then Fenrir, or Salem or whatever she is called showed up. The first thing I thought was, Is that Weiss? But of course, it wasn't. And then I thought if that is what you would eventually look like, what you would act like. And then we met again and you were just like you always have been."

Ruby slumped against a wall. "I just don't know what to do, and I'm afraid, and I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Belladonna, a small smile on her face, walked over and wrapped Ruby in a hug.

"You did what you thought was best, nobody can blame you for that. You were in pain, Weiss was your closest friend, and she died in the worst possible way. But that wasn't your fault. You didn't call off the search, you didn't abandon her. And you didn't abandon me." She said, comforting her leader.

"But I-"

"Put me in prison because you knew what they did to those who had been corrupted, you saved my life. I'm here now because of what you did."

She released the hug and wiped away Ruby's tears.

"See? You haven't changed that much, you still are the kindest person I know, even if you tried to hide it underneath a cold shell."

Ruby sighed. "Sorry for the emotional crap. It's been a busy few days."

Blake laughed. "Don't worry, Yang went from sobbing to laughing several times, somehow she also was able to blubber rout that people are calling her Yin now." Blake said. She cocked an eyebrow, "I'm guessing that is a pun?"

Ruby gave a weak laugh. "I think so" She said.

"Want to go to talk to your sis?" Blake asked. Ruby nodded. Blake wrapped an arm around ruby, drawing her close. Ruby did not resist, leaning into the crook of her teammate's neck. The duo quietly walked up the stairs, only the sound of their footsteps on old floorboards breaking the silence of the peaceful house.

* * *

 

Salem and Neo appeared back at Salem's palace, air around them shattering as they appeared. Salem strode forward easily as Neo fell into lockstep behind her. Salem's gaze fell on Lie and Valkyrie. Lie was struggling to remain standing, one arm slung over a concerned Valkyrie, who was far less injured.

"Ren," Salem began in a clipped tone, the anger seemingly absent from her voice as she approached the young man, "how badly are you hurt?"

Lie looked up, his face was bloodied and bruised, his nose bent at a awkward angle, has two black eyes and dried blood caked his lips.

"I'll be fine in a day." He said.

Salem's eyes narrowed, even as she gritted her teeth.

"Neo, leave us." She ordered, Neo practically rushing to comply.

She followed Neo with her eyes until the girl vanished, returning her cold gaze back to Lie and Valkyrie.

"What were you thinking?" She hissed as she walked up to the two of them, "I told you to retreat if things got too dangerous."

"We had things-" Valkyrie began, only to be silenced by a finger.

"Under control? You call that situation under control?" Salem seethed, "Cinder incapacitated, Mercury likely dead under all that rubble, not to mention Ren basically unconscious and you out of ammunition?" She paused, staring straight into Valkyrie's eyes. Salem watched as the fight faded from them, Valkyrie looked away guiltily.

"If that was under control, I wonder what your definition of out of control is? Does Fenrir have to come knocking?" Salem finished.

"Look, we're sorry things went wrong-"

Salem let out a laugh, "Things went wrong alright, but nothing that can't be rectified in time. We just strike again when we see the opportunity." She explained, turning towards the vast staircase before them. Salem motioned for the two of them to follow her.

She ascended the stairs slowly, leading the two gods up towards a balcony overlooking the grimmlands. As the reached the top she paused. Turning back to them.

"This will spread all over Anima, all over Remnant. It is a matter of time, our failure simply delays it, nothing more." She drank in the look in Valkyrie and Lie's eyes, the mixture of fascination and shock.

"We also have several advantages that will become more pronounced with time. The light of Yggdrasil does not reach Remnant, and so neither does its power. Unless it has a vessel."

"Like you?" Lie asked. Salem nodded.

"I hold a fragment of Yggdrasil's power, a power which the gods need to maintain themselves."

"I don't understand." Valkyrie said, with Lie nodding in agreement.

"Yggdrasil is like the sun, nourishing life in all its forms. Those on Remnant do not need such nourishment, Remnant is not directly connected to Yggdrasil and the people here grew in a way that they never needed it's energy, their power comes from themselves. Their aura replenishes quickly on its own. But as a consequence, they are by far the weakest species."

"So how did you not subjugate them almost immediately?" Valkyrie asked

"I am but one person. I possibly could have destroyed them all, but don't forget we need them alive to feed Yggdrasil." She reminded them, "However, if species needing Yggdrasil's power is cut off from it…"

"They'll weaken in time." Valkyrie whispered, the pieces starting to fall into place.

Salem nodded, "unless they are around a vessel of Yggdrasil's power, they will slowly weaken, their aura will rejuvenate at a snail's pace. Their strength will fade, and eventually, they will become no stronger than the mortals that reside here."

"So, since we are near you-"

"You will not face the effects, at least, not as quickly nor as severely as the others." Salem smiled apologetically "My presence delays and reduces the severity of the effects, but it does not stop them from happening."

"But the others will!"

Salem nodded. "and that is why it is important that I arrange the occasional meeting with them. Just to make sure it doesn't get too severe."

She turned to face the two, the view behind her adding a sinister air to her command: "I want you two to capture the Branwens. Our plan would have likely succeeded had they gods not been present."

Lie and Valkyrie nodded.

"Now get some rest, you clearly need it." She said, much more kindly, Valkyrie and Lie nodded, before turning, and limping back down the stairs.

Salem thought of trying to help them, but decided against it, the two needed their time to talk, and, if memory served, they always seemed to do it after a fight, interrupting that was a poor idea.

Instead, she turned and gazed out at the wasteland before her, allowing her mind to drift. She thought of Ruby, and wondered if she knew Salem's true identity, wondered how she would react to the revelation. But that could come later.

Salem smiled. "Well, at least she seems to be doing well." She muttered, before turning and heading to her throne room. She had plans to plot, and pawns to move. They were still in the midgame after all, and she had to prepare for the endgame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delays. Sadly they'll continue until at least July, maybe later. But I'll try to get out chapters faster if possible. Hirshja and I are working on the next arc, which will be divided into a main arc and a Mini-Arc. This Major arc is basically done, one or two last things to finish and then we'll be onto a mini-arc, followed by the next major arc: Fall of Vytal.
> 
> Sounds ominous doesn't it?
> 
> Have a great week!  
> Until next time,  
> DeamonHunter


	41. Endings and Beginnings

Yin stared at the woman only a few feet away. The face was so similar, but paradoxically so different. Usually the lips would have been in a faint smile, the eyes open, inviting anyone for a chat, the warmth would have emanated from her face, even as she carried herself with the self-assurance of someone who could have ruined your day with a few words.

The Cinder Fall in front of her was wildly different. She was bound to the chair she was sitting in. a pale white straightjacket paralyzed her movements, but did little to hide the hate in her eyes. The amber orbs glowed as if on fire, even as her mouth contorted itself into a spiteful frown. Her crimson dress, once clearly a thing of beauty was somewhat tattered. The left side of her face was a giant bruise, likely from crashing into a building after being swatted away by Qrow.

Yin forced a smirk on her face as an atlas soldier shoved cinder's chair into the back of a bullhead. The hateful eyes remained upon her even then. But Yin ignored it, giving a small wave as the bullhead's cargo bay door closed. The bullhead took off with barely a whisper and faded into the distance.

The crunching of gravel told Yin that someone was approaching, she turned to see James Ironwood walk up to her; his hands behind his back as he gazed at the fading bullhead.

"Advance stealth technology. No one will be able to track it, and Cinder Fall will be transported back to Atlas with no one the wiser."

"Salem will be." Yin replied. Salem still bothered her, even if she couldn't place a finger on why.

Ironwood nodded, "I am surprised however, Ozpin and I have been fighting Salem for years, we thought she wanted to destroy Remnant, who would have imagined that Salem intended something much greater."

"It still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Why Remnant? Why not kill us all at Mountain Glenn?"

"Too many people? Perhaps she thought she couldn't face you all."

Yin shook her head. "The last time Fenrir appeared he walked into Valhalla and almost destroyed everything. From the stories we've heard, Fenrir should have been able to take us all out with ease."

"Perhaps she lacks something she once had? She could be weaker because she has been trapped on Remnant? You mentioned Remnant is not as deeply connected to Yggdrasil as Valhalla is."

Yin groaned, she sighed a she ran her hands through her hair. "We don't have enough information. We were sent to recon, locate Fenrir and let others handle the rest. We aren't equipped for a war."

"Good thing Atlas is." Ironwood replied, "Now that we know we have a mutual enemy, I can support you more openly. Is there any way you can contact your superiors? A few more gods on our side couldn't hurt."

"No, we left without all the equipment, things were kind of a mess when we left."

Ironwood nodded. "A shame, I suppose we will have to make do with what we have."

Yin nodded in agreement. "yep."

"On another subject, a Pyrrha Nikos lookalike has been spotted in Mistral. The networks have been in overdrive with claims that she has come back from the dead." Ironwood gave her a sideways glance, "Is it perhaps your ally?"

Yin grinned. "Give me a picture and I'll double check, but odds are, it is."

Ironwood smiled, it was awkward and forced, but the intent was clear. "Good, I'll get you one by tonight." He turned and walked off, pulling out his scroll as he did so.

Yin turned back towards the abandoned building they called home. "Well, at least we have that to look forward to. Better go tell Jaune."

She raced off, looking forward to seeing the look on Jaune's face when she told him they had found Pyrrha.

* * *

Fenrir smiled quietly as he watched his friends walk ahead of him. Ren was quietly nodding, apparently listening intently to whatever Nora was saying. The conversation had drifted from sloths and ice cream flavors to Dust ammunition and had taken a sharp left into what kind of monkeys live in Mistral. It was almost dizzying to listen to. Fenrir couldn't follow it fully. Part of that was because the conversation, even with Nora involved, was just boring. The part about Dust ammo was interesting, but that part had lasted a grand total of five minutes.

The other thing that haunted Fenrir was what happened yesterday with the Grimm attack on that Village. It bothered him, and it bothered him that the sight of a burning village during a Grimm attack kept him up at night.

He could still recall the smoke and the screams. The blood-curdling roars of ursa. The horde seemed endless, for every Grimm he, Ren or Nora killed, it seemed like two more would come out of the forest. Then the fire had somehow started and before they knew it, they were nearly trapped in the middle of a roaring inferno. Nearly, because Fenrir had decided to smash through several stone walls with his bare fists, and rush them out to safety. A few of the civilians had followed them out. Fenrir liked to think that the rest had already escaped, but he knew, deep down, that the civilians that had followed them for half a day before they neared another village were likely the only survivors of the onslaught.

Fenrir shook his head, here he was, destroyer of gods, conqueror of Valhalla, nigh-invincible manifestation of Yggdrasil, helpless to rescue people who may have very well burned alive in that inferno. The thought made his stomach churn.

And that bothered him. He was supposed to destroy this world bring Yggdrasil crashing down so it could be reborn and balance restored, instead he was following two mortals who he had befriended. And now, no more than a few weeks having passed, he had gone from raiding a town for food and clothes, to finding the idea of people he had never seen, let alone met, dying so pointlessly to be disturbing.

"Fenrir! Shadow Glade is that way! That's where we are going to meet up with Ruby and Jaune!" Nora chatted excitedly, shoving a map into his hands and pointing to at least to Fenrir seemed to be a random point on the map.

Fenrir nodded, casting his questions into the abyss that was his mind for the time being. He had never liked having to plan out things, feeling was always so much more fun.

"I look forward to meeting them."

"You'll love them!" Nora promised, Ren nodded approvingly.

Fenrir smiled and nodded. He hoped he would, Nora and Ren had talked about them a lot, and they seemed like nice people.

The trio continued on their merry way, looking forward to meeting their friends.

* * *

A few days of walking away from Fenrir, Nora and Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Vytalian goddess and Fall Maiden, sat gazing at a fire. A small wooden bowl in on hand, a spoon in another. Across from her. Jaune and Ruby sat. Ruby was quickly spooning soup into her own mouth, while Jaune as idly stirring his, deep in thought.

Pyrrha let her mind drift, thinking of Arc and her other teammates. She hoped they were okay and knew they could take care of themselves. However, with Fenrir on the prowl, there was still a danger to them.

"So, Pyrrha, What are we like in you're world?" Ruby asked, breaking the silence and drawing Pyrrha from her thoughts.

Pyrrha smiled at the young huntress, "you are all very strong, famous in fact. Our teams are the best of friends."

"So kinda similar to Remnant?" Ruby proposed.

Jaune let out a snort at that. "Clearly something is different." he muttered

Pyrrha ignored him, even as the words hurt her heart. "Somewhat, but some people that are no longer among the living here, are still alive in Vytal."

"Like who?" Ruby asked.

"You're mother for example." Pyrrha said, grinning as Ruby's eyes lit up in excitement.

"My mom's alive? That incredible!" Ruby said smiling, "I'm glad my Vytalian self didn't have to lose a parent, and I'm sure Yang-"

Ruby paused as she saw Pyrrha's reaction, it was not quite a grimace, but pyrrha was clearly discomfited by what Ruby was saying.

"Pyrrha, what's wrong?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's… it's nothing." Pyrrha said halfheartedly, knowing that Ruby would clearly see through the deception.

"Pyrrha what's wrong?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha looked away as she rubbed her shoulder, refusing to make eye contact with ruby. "You're father, he died when you and Yang were very young."

Ruby remained silent, the excitement fading from her eyes.

"It seems that our worlds, Vytal and Remnant, are somehow connected, those dead in one world are living in the other, but some sort of balance seems to be maintained. Like when someone dies in Remnant, someone dies in Vytal, but they aren't necessarily the same person."

"So, Ruby's dad died instead of her mom." Jaune said not looking up from his bowl. "That's cruel."

Pyrrha nodded. Letting a pregnant silence reign.

"So who died in Vytal when Pyrrha was killed?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha shrank from the question, the underlying meaning clear to her

Pyrrha had no answer and instead gave a small shrug. "I don't know." She said "Cinder has that kind of information. I don't have access to it."

"You work with Cinder Fall?" Ruby asked surprised.

"From what I know of your Cinder, the two are very different people." Pyrrha said defensively, "but yes, our teams have worked with her from time to time."

Jaune lowered his bowl. "Seems like you guys have it easy." The tone of accusation was clear.

Again Pyrrha ignored it, the pain in her heart not fading at all. Ruby glanced at Jaune, a worried look on her face.

Jaune glared silently at Pyrrha but did not say a word. Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably, before giving an excuse to leave, training she called it. As she left Ruby turned to Jaune.

"What is up with you? You've been grumpy ever since we found Pyrrha!"

Jaune tuned back to her. "And you've been acting like nothing is wrong, what's up with you? What if this is a trap from Cinder? Get us to lower our guards and this Pyrrha," he practically snarled the name, "comes and slit our throats in our sleep!"

"Pyrrha has shown us nothing but kindness! What reason do we have to believe her story isn't true?"

"She claims to be a goddess, and claims to be on our side, but what evidence do we have that any of that is even remotely true? She hasn't exactly performed an miracles and her friends haven't shown up yet."

Ruby paused for a second, examing her friend's face before a smile grew. "Is this about Pyrrha, _our_ Pyrrha?"

"Why would you think that?" Jaune asked fiercely, anger growing as he saw a clever smile on Ruby's face.

"Because they look and sound exactly alike, even if they act a little differently."

"This is about us not knowing someone! And allowing someone with a completely absurd story to tag along with us. This isn't a game anymore Ruby, this isn't practice. Cinder is going to try to kill us, we can't take careless risks!" Jaune argued.

"And I'm not. I think she's telling us the truth, and if she is, she could help us in Mistral."

Jaune glared at his friend. He took a deep breathe before exhaling slowly.

"Fine, but this is on you Ruby. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ruby beamed and gave an energetic nod. "I won't!" she chirped happily.

Jaune stood and grabbed Crocea Mors. "I'm gonna go practice."

"Need a sparring partner?" Ruby offered.

Jaune shook his head, "not tonight." He said, before walking off into the woods, leaving Ruby alone by the campfire.

She cast her eyes around their campsite. Two tents and a dingy lean-to circling the large fire in the center. She gave a sigh. "Maybe I should get some practice in too." She muttered as she stood and brushed the dirt of her cape. She picked up Crescent Rose and walked into the woods, humming a small tune as she tried to find a clearing in which to practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter ended up being the result of writer's block and my inability to find a good way to switch between two fairly different narratives. The Mini arc (though that title is used with increasing caution) starts next chapter, Which will center on Pyrrha and Fenrir, I'm looking forward to it, and I hope everyone reading is too!
> 
> Special thanks to Hirshja with working with me on the outline. When i started this, i thought: Maybe it'll be ten chapters?" Yeah, that definitely didn't happen.
> 
> I'm taking the GRE next month so there might only be one update, I'll try to make it a longer chapter to make up for it.
> 
> Thanks for reading, have a great week!
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> DeamonHunter


	42. Divergent Paths

Valhalla

Sometime in the past

She blinked as light burst into the darkened room, their room, better known as a prison cell, had no windows. She did not know how long she had sat there, how long it had been since she had eaten, cleaned or cut her hair. She did not know how long it had been since she had been dragged here, kicking and screaming as they shoved her and her brother into this cell. All she knew is that she and her brother were prisoners of their sworn enemies.

An armored guard, a heavyset man in plate, marched in. His face was contorted into a scowl, and even near-blinded by the light, she could see he wore bandages across his face. She snarled as the guard approached, a threat which was promptly responded to.

"Shut yer trap, you little hellion." He snarled, giving her a fierce kick to the stomach. She curled over as the air was forced from her lungs. She gasped for breath as she was yanked up by the ragged remains of her sleeve.

"Stand up!" The guard ordered as two more entered. She heard one kick her brother awake, her brother cursed, getting stomped on in response. She snarled again struggling to break free of the guard's grip, but he held fast backhanding her as he yelled foreign curses at her.

"Silence witch! Yer about to see yer new king!"

She grimaced. So, the battle had ended as her father had predicted. The Vanir had lost, the war was over, and their family was either subjugated or destroyed.

Her gaze turned toward her brother. The two looked alike, Ashen hair and pale complexions. But he still looked like the child he was. Barely older than a toddler, even if he had the mouth of a grown man. She was only slightly older, still young enough to be considered innocent by most.

She almost laughed at that. With the Vanir broken, they would certainly be killed. The Aesir would see to that. They could not let the Vanir have anything resembling leaders, even if those leaders were the young children of the previous monarch.

She felt the fight flee her body. She couldn't protect herself, let alone her little brother. What kind of elder sister was she?

She didn't resist as she was dragged out of the cell and roughly shoved down a stone hallway. Fortunately, her brother, still groggy from his nap, did little to resist either. She didn't know if she could contain her rage if they struck him again. She would make them regret it, even if it killed her.

The guards marched her and her brother through a series of corridors, each seemingly more elaborate and decorated than the last, until finally they arrived in front of a large gate.

Her brother whistled. She herself could barely keep her eyes of the gateway. It glittered with every color she had ever seen, and many she hadn't. The doors themselves were carved from wood, but seemed to be fused to the door, there were no visible hinges. Her mouth opened with awe as they stood there surrounded by guards.

"We have the prisoners." Another guard said to no one. She could see no one who could have opened the gate.

But before her eyes, the gate opened, silently opening inwards revealing a vast room. The guards shoved them through, she and her brother tumbling past the gate. She stretched out her hands, even as the clanking chains seemed to stifle such movement. She hit the floor hard, stars sparkling in her vision.

He heard her brother groan. Concern for him overtook her, and she quickly pushed herself to her feet. Turning to her brother she saw a new figure aiding him. She growled, readying herself to pounce on this stranger.

The stranger laughed as he aided them. He raised his hand placatingly.

"I mean no harm young one." He said kindly.

He was dressed in a green tunic, a small sword on his hip. His cloak was thin, but stitched with gold thread, and held the traditional red and blue trim of a high ranking Aesir. His flame red hair, bound in a long braid, was flecked with white, or perhaps a platinum blonde color. His smile was an easy one and it went to his eyes, both of which were a deep brown color, with only a hint of the glow that belonged to all the Aesir gods.

He laughed as he saw she was not placated. "Don't fear me young one, my father is the one you should fear."

"Your father?" her brother asked.

He nodded. "he has been looking forward to meeting you for some time, and neither he nor my brother are known for their patience."

"Shouldn't you also be impatient then?" her brother asked. She could have kicked him for that. While it was supposed that Aesir brethren shared similar traits, her father had attested that Odin was wise and calm, while his son was a boorish egotistical buffoon.

The red-haired god merely laughed. "Perhaps, but I am adopted." He said, ushering them deeper into the room.

She and her brother slowly followed the red-haired god. Beyond him, a shape that slowly took the form of a throne became clear.

The red-haired god stopped. "Your majesty," he began with a bow "The last of the Venir rebels, the children of Gullveig are before you."

"You are late Loki" Odin said from his throne. "You should take after your brother, be prompt."

Loki, as the red-haired god was known, frowned for but a second, before a smile hid his displeasure.

"Of course, sire, I shall happily obey." He stood ushering the two children forwards, "Now, have you decided their fate?"

"Death." Said a gravelly voice. A man approached from behind, passing Loki and the two children before standing to the right of Odin.

"Thor, so glad you could join us." Loki said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Thor was a broad man, with a grizzled beard, his hair was a golden blonde. But what struck her, was that he emanated a golden light much brighter than Loki's.

"The Vanir rebelled, tearing apart the gods in war, what else would be fitting for those whom would bring our house crashing down?" Thor asked, ignoring Loki.

Odin sat, his face without expression, his body eerily still.

"I disagree." Loki said. "The Vanir may have done terrible damage, but to kill children for the mistakes of adults?"

"They bear guilt as descendants of Gullveig, who started the rebellion." Odin said.

"Let them live and in twenty years they'll rear their heads against us. And these pests will have learned from their predecessor's mistakes." Thor argued.

"Only if they are not taught respect." Loki said turning to Odin. "Lord Odin, father, kill these children and the Vanir who have just surrendered will rise up again, except this time, they will be out for blood, vengeance, and they will fight to kill us all."

"And we will defeat them again." Thor argued.

"But at what cost? The battles that led to their defeat have been costly, we are half the number we were two years ago. We cannot afford to lose more gods to a civil war."

"So, you just want to let them go?" Thor roared.

"Of course, not brother." Loki said. Both looked at Odin, king of the Aesir, and once more, king of Valhalla.

"What do you propose Loki?" Odin asked.

"I propose we make these two your eyes and ears. Across the worlds, tell you all that is going on, day and night."

"You wish to replace those I lost, Hugin and Munin?"

Loki nodded.

Odin leaned forward. "Step forward children." He ordered.

She stepped forward, they were being spared? It was a miracle, if this saved her brother, it was worth it. if it saved her also all the better. They could bide their time, break free of the bonds of servitude they would be bound to in due time.

"Kneel."

They did so.

"Do you swear to obey me in all things children of Gulliveg, head of the now disgraced house of Branwen?"

"I do sire." Raven said.

"Yes… Sire." Qrow whimpered. Raven knew his shame, she felt it herself.

"very well." Odin said, leaning back. He turned to Thor, "bring your apprentice, and Loki, bring yours, they will clean and clothe these two."

Both nodded, Loki looked pleased, while Thro looked angry.

"Summer!"

"Taiyang."

Two gods seemingly appeared. Loki rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips.

"listening in on meetings again?" Loki muttered, shaking his heads.

"We are always ready to serve!" The girl said, giving Thor a salute.

'Get the cleaned and clothed, and give them some supper." Loki ordered. The blonde-haired boy nodded, pulling out a key and quickly freeing the Branwens of their shackles.

"C'mon, let Summer and I show you your new home!" Taiyang said with a bright smile.

Raven forced a smile on her face, forcing back tears. That day she vowed to never cry again.

And she kept that promise, with one exception.

* * *

Mountain Glenn

The present day

Yin slung the satchel over her shoulder. It was small, but was filled to the brim with Atlas military supplies. Each member of their team carried a similar one, along with any other equipment they had decided to bring.

Arc and belladonna had decided to travel light. Belladonna had Gambol shroud and the clothes on her back, freshly washed and no longer smelling of blood and sweat. Arc had taken one look at the ruined remains of his armor and had decided to leave the ruined metal scarp behind. Ironwood had quickly confiscated it for Atlas, undoubtedly hoping to be able to glean new technological advancements from it. Now, Arc wore a black shirt and jeans as well as a jacket that was strikingly like the one Ironwood wore, Except Arc left his open, His weapon and scabbard hung from his shoulder.

"Will these rations last?" he asked questioningly.

Yin shrugged, "maybe" She replied, "who knows how long it will take for us to get to mistral?"

"I wish we could use Atlas transport. Why can't we again?"

"Salem is moving around in Mistral, alerting her to our presence would be a bad idea, and nothing screams unexpected visitors like a military aircraft unexpectedly landing in foreign territory."

"Of course." Arc replied with a sigh. "and fake I.D.s so we could use commercial transport would be so wrong because…"

Yin shrugged as she shoved another rations pack into her satchel, "Ironwood said that security's been heightened and tensions are still high, if they caught us we could cause another war."

The sound of footsteps interrupted their conversation, Yin turned to see Yang standing behind the two of them, she shifted back and forth uncomfortably, rubbing on arm with her hand as she stood out of the way.

Yin paused, she turned to arc, "could you…"

Arc nodded. "I'll go check on the others, make sure they're packed as well." He walked off quickly, throwing a satchel over his free shoulder as he left.

Yin turned to Yang. "What's up?"

Yang sighed before quickly sitting on the ground, crossing her legs. Yin mimicked the action, deducing that this conversation would not be an easy one.

"It's about Raven, right?"

"Yeah, she just…" letting out an exasperated huff Yang slumped forward. "She just doesn't want to talk. She says she has nothing to say. She won't listen and she won't give me her reasons for leaving."

"Maybe she just isn't ready?" Yin proposed.

Yang shook her head, "But she says it with such contempt y'know? I just feel like she's doing it as way of insulting or hurting me."

Yin nodded, sympathizing with Yang. "I think that's just her personality, it might not be anything personal. Why don't you talk to your uncle about it?"

"I tried that, but he said he couldn't help. He said if Raven didn't want to talk, nothing could make her."

"Well, I'm not sure how I can help, I don't even know her."

"Well, You and your Raven seem to be on… civil terms?" Yang said struggling for a good descriptor.

Yin laughed. "We hardly talk, and when you're stuck together on a mission, being an ass doesn't help anyone."

"Well, that won't help." Yang muttered leaning back.

Yin stood and stretched out a hand. Yang took it.

"No, it won't" Yin said, hoisting yang up, "but maybe I can try locking you two in room together when I get back."

"She can teleport, how are you going to do that?" Yang asked with a playful grin.

"Magic." Yin faux-whispered. She hoisted her satchel onto her back.

"We're about to head out, we have a long way to go to mistral. Stay safe ok?"

"Not to worry. I'll keep the others in line."

Yin let out a small chuckle as she waved farewell, and headed off to meet up with her fellow guardians.

Above her, on the ruins of a brick and mortar building, a raven took flight.

* * *

Yin arrived at the rendezvous point late. She spied her fellow guardians as she approached. With them stood Ironwood, and both Qrows. Glynda was back at the campsite, preparing to move to a new location.

"So, the gang's all here." Yang said.

Belladonna rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure we're still a few members short." She said, a small smile appearing and quickly vanishing.

Yin stopped as she approached her uncle, the one who clearly did not have a flask. She gave him a quick punch to the shoulder.

He yelped. "Jeez," he began, rubbing his arm, "have you gotten stronger since last time we met?"

"It's only been a few months!" Yin retorted.

"Yeah, and I'm still recovering. I was just in a fight you know."

"Against two gods, who you could take down in a sparring match in less than a minute." She said.

Ruby coughed loudly, interrupting the friendly verbal jabbing match. All eyes turned to her.

"So, does everyone understand their objectives?" She asked.

Belladonna nodded. "You, me, Yang and Jaune will head to mistral to rendezvous with Pyrrha and inform her of what we know, with any luck, we'll reach her before Salem does."

"Meanwhile Team RWBY will head to Haven Academy along the sea route, And I'll tag along to make sure they don't get too out of hand." Remnant Qrow said.

"The rest of us will investigate how Salem is controlling your friends, and why they were so formidable." Ironwood concluded.

Ruby nodded. "If they could somehow handle Both uncle Qrow and Raven, Salem must have some way of increasing their power."

"but for some reason didn't use it before they came after me." Remnant Qrow pointed out, "so it's possible that it's either a one-time trick, or it comes with nasty side effects."

Ruby nodded. "Really, the difference in power is surprising, but it's more concerning the Salem, or Fenrir or whatever name she goes by, can control gods, which means that whoever finds Pyrrha first will suddenly have control of the Vytalian Fall maiden."

"That is probably as bad as it sounds, isn't it?"

"The power of the Vytalian fall maiden is roughly equivalent to the remnant maidens." Arc said "At least from what I've seen."

"Well better start walking now, it'll take us awhile to get to mistral." Yin said, cracking her knuckles.

Ironwood nodded, handing Ruby a scroll. "When you get deeper inland, use this to contact us, Atlas will send a Bullhead to discretely drop you deep inside Mistralian territory."

"What happened to no international incidents?" Belladonna asked.

"If what you say is true, one fall maiden caused the collapse of Beacon. The last thing we need is for Salem to get another."

Qrow nodded, "even if Cinder is out of play for now, Salem can bring her back in using Roman's lackey, or Pyrrha. Keeping Pyrrha safe needs to be our top priority."

Ruby nodded, turning to her friends.

"Let's go." She said, immediately walking off.

As the others set off, Yin waved goodbye, and hurried to catch up with them. God Qrow watched as his nieces entered the nearby forest and vanished. He glanced up,

"you better keep em safe." He whispered, before heading back to Mountain Glenn without another word.

Ironwood looked perplexed. "What is troubling him?"

Qrow shrugged. "how should I know? The guys a god."

"He's also you."

"He's also sober." Qrow muttered following his Vytalian-self back towards the ruins, leaving a dumbfounded Ironwood standing alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And we have a different viewpoint. Much of the lore was grabbed from actual Norse mythology if I got something wrong please point it out, I'm no expert but I like learning about history and mythology. Besides, Norse mythology is pretty interesting in its own right.
> 
> Apologies for the delay on the chapter, with any luck, I'll be able to get back to weekly updates by August. Depends on how this trip to Tokyo goes!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter, Please leave opinions, likes/dislikes and concrit in the reviews, or PM me, I read those pretty quickly and try to get back within 24 hours.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> DeamonHunter
> 
> Fun fact: Gullveig follows the RWBY naming rule, it translates to "murky Gold". The things you learn while trying to come up with backstories.


	43. New frenemies

Fenrir had decided that shadow glade was a deceptive name. From what he had seen Shadow glade was actually an incredibly dense forest. The shadow part of the name was apt, oaks and maple trees seemed to intermingle, casting a shadow over the pathway that the trio were walking down. However, Fenrir hadn't seen a glad anywhere.

"It's a little like Forever Fall back in Vale." Nora commented with wonder, stopping to look up at all the branches, brightly colored leaves appearing form a roof over their heads. Ren and Fenrir stopped up short as well.

"It's like stained glass." Ren commented with a nod. Fenrir glanced upwards with a smile. Forever fall must have been a pleasant place, if it was like this. Quiet, only the crunching of leaves and branches on the path disrupting the quaint silence.

"We should show this to Ruby and Jaune! They'll love it!" Nora proposed.

Ren nodded, "They are bringing a guest as well right?" he asked, beginning to walk forward again.

Nora nodded with a big smile. "I wonder who it'll be? Maybe it'll be Weiss!"

"We did hear a rumor about a white fang attack on the Schnee manor a few villages back, perhaps Weiss left in the chaos?"

"That would be awesome! Ruby must be super happy!" Nora cheered.

The two continued to chat, Nora coming up with ideas for how to celebrate Weiss' return while Ren simply nodded along.

Fenrir lagged Nora and Ren paying no attention to the conversation. Dread pooled in his stomach at the mention of their extra guest, the feeling boring down like a great weight on his shoulders. By nature, he was not one for introspection, but in the past few hours he had searched for exactly what could cause this feeling, and he had a gnawing suspicion about what it was.

He prayed to Yggdrasil, an irony since he was part of the world tree, that Ruby and Jaune's companion was not a god. He dreaded the thought of fighting someone who had clearly befriended Ruby and Jaune. He could only imagine the anguish that would cause Ren and Nora. They'd probably leave him. Horrified by his actions or some such.

He could imagine the look on Nora and Ren's face. The anguish and shock even as Ruby and Jaune would come to the god's defense. Would he have to fight them too? That would be too cruel.

He took a deep breathe. Calm down he told himself, could he hide his identity if Ruby's companion was a god? No, probably not, he had an instinctive sense as to most being's basic nature, the gods certainly had a similar ability. And even if they didn't, the name Fenrir was a dead giveaway, Nora or Ren just had to mention him by name once and the god would try to kill him in his sleep.

"Fen, Everything okay?" Nora asked gently.

Fenrir's head snapped up, jolted from his thought process he scrambled to find an excuse. Fenrir's mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out.

"I think our friend is simply concerned about meeting more people." Ren said as gently as he could.

Fenrir nodded dumbly, it was a better excuse than any he had thought up, which is to say, none.

"Aw, Fen! There's no need to be frightened! Ruby and Jaune will probably be awkward too!" Nora said, giving him a somewhat gentle hug, "Ren, do you remember how Ruby acted when she introduced herself to Winter. Weiss wouldn't stop talking about it!"

"She mentioned it once Nora."

"But it was for an hour! Weiss was soooooo embarrassed!" Nora said rolling her eyes at Ren. She turned back to Fenrir. "What I'm saying is that it's okay to feel nervous, but don't get so down in the dumps! They'll love you!"

Fenrir nodded dumbly. Nora's enthusiasm was infectious, but did little to ease Fenrir's concerns. He put on a small smile anyway, "that means a lot to me Nora, thanks." He said gently.

Nora released him, but quickly slung one arm of his shoulder.

"No problem!" She said, Waving Ren over with her free arm, wrapping it around him when he got near enough.

"Now let's go!" She cheered.

Fenrir gave Ren a glance. He shrugged back sheepishly, rolling his eyes with a smile.

Nora practically skipped down the path, forcing the others to follow her lead, it lasted for a few seconds before Ren tripped, causing him to fall forward. His grip on Nora pulled her down, causing a chain reaction as they ended up in a tangle of limbs on the muddy path.

"I don't think I can skip." Ren muttered. Nora and Fenrir burst into laughter.

And for the first time that day, Fenrir wasn't worrying about the future.

* * *

 

Pyrrha Nikos, fall Maiden and a goddess of Vytal. Paced in a circle around the clearing in Shadow Glenn. It was well lit, and except for the faint tree line in the distance, she would have thought she wasn't in the middle of what could easily be called a forest but for whatever reason, was not.

"Pyrrha relax, they're just a little late." Ruby pleaded.

"We are in the middle of the wilderness, Fenrir is on the loose, probably leading an army of Grimm, and you're friends are nowhere to be found. Doesn't that concern you?"

Ruby shook her head. "They'll be here." She said.

"Ren and Nora are hunters, they've been through their fair share of bad situations. They'll get here. Besides, we were all traveling on foot, being a little late isn't exactly unexpected." Jaune reasoned.

Pyrrha sighed, but nodded. Nevertheless, she continued to pace.

Jaune sighed and walked over to ruby. "I don't think she'll stop." Jaune whispered.

"her friends are missing, I think she's more worried about that."

Jaune nodded before glancing back at Pyrrha.

"I've notice you two are getting along better, I'm glad."

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "I'd say we've more come to a mutual understanding. And we both got some things off our chests."

Some of the tension between the two was indeed gone. Jaune however, still did not trust the goddess, she had no evidence to back up her story and until she did, he would be skeptical. Until then however, he would at least be polite.

"You should spar, I'm sure it would help." Ruby said.

Jaune shook his head. "I think that would be a little to much like replacing Pyrrha right now."

"This isn't about forgetting or replacing her Pyrrha. We can all do with some improvement and she," pointing to the goddess, "is amazing. I think sparring with her could help us become stronger for when we get to Haven."

Jaune paused. "I'll think about it." he conceded.

The two stood in silence for a few moments before Jaune cleared his throat.

"So, Haven is still on the list?" He asked.

Ruby nodded. "We don't know where Fenrir is, or what he's doing. Until we do, we can't help. And Haven has a CCT tower that still works. Maybe Pyrrha will be able to get into contact with her team."

"And we can use her help to stop Cinder." Jaune supplied.

Ruby nodded, "If she is willing to help, and I'm sure she will, stopping whatever Cinder's planning will be a lot easier."

"Ruby, If she's headed to haven, the plan would be pretty obvious."

"She wants to do to Haven what she did to Beacon." Ruby whispered. Jaune nodded.

"We won't let that happen." He said firmly, "We'll stop it."

Ruby smiled and nodded.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Pyrrha pause,

"Pyrrha!" She called out, "Is something wrong?"

"Someone is coming." Pyrrha said, jogging up to them with her sword drawn. Pointing eastwards.

Jaune and Ruby turned in time to see three figures in the distance.

"is it Ren and Nora?" Jaune asked.

Ruby drew Crescent Rose, quickly changing it into its sniper form and staring down the scope.

"Yeah!" She said with obvious glee, "But there is a third person with them. And I have no idea who he is."

"Well," Pyrrha said, her arms crossed, "Let's greet your friends."

Ruby and Jaune practically rushed off, while Pyrrha kept a slow and steady pace, wondering exactly why she felt like she was dreading the coming encounter.

Was it that she felt she would tear open Ren and Nora's old wounds, likely only just healed after the loss of their friend? Or was it something else? She shook her head, no time for soul searching. She would find out soon anyway. She spied a nearby tree and headed towards it. No need to shock Nora and Ren until Ruby believed they were ready.

* * *

 

The shouts of joy from Nora, were the first thing Fenrir heard, His ears soon picking up the sounds of heavy footfalls in the distance. He looked up to see Nora dashing off towards the horizon, and presumably Ruby and Jaune.

"How did she do that?" Fenrir asked.

"Do what?" Ren replied

"Know they were coming." Fenrir pressed

Ren shrugged. "Nora knows these things."

Then Ren too, in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, started to jog towards his friends and a Nora who was waving frantically while running.

Fenrir shrugged, at least there wasn't a god with them. He too jogged off towards the others, but at a leisurely pace.

The leisurely pace worked well for him at first, he gave Nora and Ren time to talk with their friends, as well as evade Nora and Ruby's tackle hugs. He arrived in time for an exuberant introduction by Nora.

"this is Fen! He's a hunter! We ran into him in one of Vale's outlying towns a few weeks back. The townspeople were being rude!"

"They were treating him poorly because he's a Faunus." Ren explained casually.

"That's horrible!" Ruby exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement.

"but we got on really well. And so, he ended up tagging along! He's super strong too!" Nora finished.

"Nice to meet you." Fenrir said holding his hand out.

"Nice to meet you too!" Ruby said cheerfully, saluting before shaking his hand.

"Likewise." Jaune said with a simple shake.

"We actually found a friend too, but we didn't know how to explain it, so we decided to just show you." Ruby explained awkwardly. A read head appeared from a nearby tree, deftly landing on the ground.

Fenrir paused, seeing the shocked faces of his friends. Pyrrha was supposed to be dead right? Was she somehow revived?

He went to take a step closer, but Pyrrha apparently had similar ideas, striding towards them. His eyes met hers, the deep emeralds hid a faint glow. Fenrir fought the urge to bolt then and there. His prayers were answered in the cruelest way possible. He had prayed there wouldn't be a god with Ruby and Jaune and there hadn't been. There was a goddess.

Fenrir silently cursed Yggdrasil for its vicious sense of humor before expressing his thoughts on his current situation.

"Oh shit."

Nobody seemed to have heard him. Nora and Ren stared at the Spartan goddess.

"You're alive?" Nora whispered.

Pyrrha shook her head. "I'm not the Pyrrha you knew, she is dead."

Nora and Ren did not speak, but their hopeful expression fell.

" I'm from a world known as Vytal. I was sent here to stop a grave threat."

"Like Cinder?" Nora asked

"No, way bigger, end of the world kind of stuff." Ruby explained.

"Oh." Nora said. She shifted uncomfortably, clearly unsure of how to act around the goddess.

"What is this threat?" Ren asked. His face was serene, hiding the inner turmoil and confusion he was likely feeling.

"I think that can wait for later." Pyrrha replied. She turned toward Fenrir.

"Forgive me, but Ruby and Jaune didn't mention you."

"I'm new, my name is Fen." Fenrir said stiffly, breaking out into a cold sweat.

"Nice to meet you, I am Pyrrha Nikos, Fall maiden of Vytal." She said, her hand outstretched.

Fenrir eyed it like a snake, but gently shook it nonetheless. His body felt stiff, his heart raced.

"Nice to meet you too." He said.

Ruby smiled widely, "this is great! The gang is nearly all back together! Now on to Haven!"

Pyrrha nodded. "very well, Perhaps I can get into contact with my friends there."

"But first we need to rest. Let's stay here for the day and plan what we are going to do tomorrow." Jaune said.

As the others headed toward the center of the clearing Fenrir hung back.

"Yggdrasil just has a terrible sense of humor, doesn't he?" Fenrir muttered before following, hoping that he wouldn't awaken with a dagger at his throat tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again, Apologies for the late release. I'm trying to get back to weekly releases but I think I'm charging straight into writers block. Maybe sitting down and writing a chapter for three hours straight isn't the best idea?
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter, not too much went on, but it's a bridge to more interesting things.
> 
> Have a great week!
> 
> DeamonHunter


	44. Sweet Dream, Bitter Reality

 

Valhalla: Long Ago

 

               The dream always began the same way.

               “Up! Up!” Qrow shouted, jumping up and down. Their father would laugh and wrap Qrow in his arms and raise him skywards in one quick movement, chuckling as the boy yelped in surprise. Their father laughed as he played with Qrow, holding him by his ankles as Qrow playfully flailed, laughter filling their house.

               Raven always found herself in the same corner always staring at her father and brother playing as if there wasn’t a war going on, as if the Vanir had not been driven back into the very heartlands of their ancestral home. She sat and watched, a part of her wishing that she could relieve this moment, see the smiles and cheer of this warm household.

               The clacking of chain mail always made her turn. She had seen this dream a hundred or more times before, but she always felt as if her heart was in her throat when she laid eyes on her mother. Lilac eyes and a soft grin, belied the fierce warrior within. Gulliveg Branwen: Queen of the Vanir.

               She was stocky and broadly built, but still distinctly feminine in build. Blond curls were wrapped in a braid behind her head, the sides shaved till there was only a hint of hair. Her armor glowed copper red, a Branwen family Heirloom that had seen more battles than anyone could count. 

               “You look worried Raven.” Her mother had said gently, with a voice as light as bells. Raven felt warmth grow in her chest. The dread pooling in her gut all but forgotten for a few moments.

               “There’s going to be another battle won’t there?”

               Her mother’s expression changed slightly, as if she was both trying to put on a brave face and explain a great tragedy at the same time. 

She nodded, “yes Rae, there will be another battle.” She said kneeling down and stroking her daughter’s hair. “With any luck, it shall be the last. And the Aesir will have to accept that we each choose our own fates.”

               “Do the Aesir want us as slaves?” Raven had asked.

               Gulliveg shook her head. “No, but they believe they alone should lead us; that they are the wisest and the strongest.”

               “Are they?” Raven asked.

               Gulliveg laughed, “They are wise and strong, but those alone do not make a leader.” She hugged her daughter. “Don’t fret, for they are also prideful.”

               “And Pride comes before the fall.” Raven replied.

               Her mother gasped playfully, “Raven branwen! Have you been studying?” she asked with a smile.

               Raven patiently nodded.

Her mother hugged her once again, “this will all be over soon, and always remember, you’re father and I-”

               Then Raven, as she always did, woke up, her eyes moist and her sheets half off the bed.

 Raven sat up and glanced out the window of her room.

               The room was spartan, a bed and desk were the only furniture, But the view was beautiful, in the distance was the Aesir Grove, a forested area which always gave off a copper glow in the morning sunlight, closer still, was the market, the hustle and bustle of farmers, blacksmiths and fishmongers a useful alarm clock.

               She left her bed and quickly dressed, she wore black leggings and a deep red jerkin, a black overcoat came next, with a leather belt to which she attached her odachi. Glancing herself over she nodded and quickly exited the room.

She quickly headed to odin’s hall, She ha dbeen notified the night before the Odin had another mission for Qrow and her. She strode down the hall quickly, her brother silently falling in next to her as the met in the foyer.

               She nodded a greeting as she continued toward the throne room.

               “Think the big man has a interesting job for us?” Qrow asked as he unscrewed his flask, taking a quick drink.

               “Drinking this early? You must have a hangover.”

               “Every try drinking with Tai? Don’t.” he said, not waiting for a response, “even if you win, you lose.”

               Raven kept herself from smirking. Qrow got along with the others reasonably well. In the years since they had been forced to swear loyalty to Odin, Summer and Taiyang had become their closest friends, shielding them from the wrath of the Aesir, and aiding them in keeping themselves alive through the palace intrigue.

               “What was the bet this time?” She asked, nodding to a passing Aesir. The aesir did not respond in kind, continuing on his way.

               “He’d set me up with Summer.”

               “Really?” Raven hummed, “I doubt he could pull that off, She’s been giving him puppy dog eyes for at least a year.”

               “It’s Tai, everyone has been giving him puppy dog eyes.” Qrow replied with a laugh. Raven nodded in agreement. Every person even mildly interested in the male form had something for Taiyang Xiao-Long. How the man wasn’t married, willfully or at the behest of a former maiden’s family, was beyond her.

               Finally, they arrived at the throne room, the doors were quickly opened before them. The throne room showing itself. It was long, with hundreds of portraits and countless suits of armor, taken from the once worthy enemies of the Aesir, all of whom were now beaten and broken. As they neared the throne and Odin himself she caught sight of the only armor in the room that mattered. Her mother’s armor and weapon resided directly to Odin’s left, its warm copper color reduced to a dull rusted hue.

               They kneeled. Odin gazed down at them. His face, weathered by age, looked even more imposing than it did when he had their lives in his hands.

               “I have a mission for you, a brief one.”

               “What is it sire?” Raven dutifully asked.

               “There is a new threat to the gods. A great wolf has been prophesized to appear. Take Xiao-Long and Rose with you, find this wolf, and bring it to me alive.” He leaned forward, his bones audibly creaking as he did so.

“ _One blow, he is old and weak, vengeance for what he did to your family.”_   A voice in the back of her head whispered.

“If it is as powerful as it sounds, it will be a potent tool for the gods in our fight against the Grimm.” He said with a glimmer in his eyes.

               “ _Use the wolf against him, use it as a tool to free the gods from a tyrant’s grasp.”_ The voice whispered. Raven resisted the urge to shake her head. She would not start another senseless war. Killing Odin would not bring back those he burned at the stake, it would not bring back her mother, or her father.

               “Is that all my lord?” Qrow asked.

               “Yes,” Odin said, leaning back and waving the off with one hand, “Do this with haste, time waits for no one, not even the king of the Gods.”

               They left quickly, the doors closing behind them.

               ‘Damn, this is going to be an interesting mission.” Qrow laughed.

               “Let’s get Summer and Taiyang.” Raven said brusquely. Qrow nodded, his face now somber.

* * *

 

               The quartet met at a local pub. Long benches and tables allowed drinking parties of massive sizes, but today it was quiet. Possibly because it was so early, still only the beginning of the afternoon, it would get louder as night fell.

               The four nursed their ales. Taiyang shifted in his seat.

               “So, we’re going after a giant wolf?”

               “Supposedly, but realistically, prophecies aren’t very descriptive it could easily be someone who’s nickname or alias is _the great wolf_.” Qrow explained.

               “Well, how much time do we have?” Summer asked her dark hair hidden beneath her white cloak.

               “Not long, Odin wanted it done quickly.”

               Summer sighed. “that’s not good, and it’s not like we know where to begin.” She turned too lok at Taiyang, “Would Loki have any information?”

               Taiyang shrugged, “Maybe, I can always ask.”

               “Then Taiyang can do that!” Qrow said glancing at his friend, nodding quickly as he did so.

               Taiyang paused, lamely staring at Qrow make increasingly distinct jerking motions with his head.  Taiyang’s eyes widened as a look of realization came over him.

               “You know, that’s a great idea! How about you come with me Raven? It would probably be better if you were there, he might be more willing to give us any information he has.” Taiyang proposed quickly, eliciting a sigh of relief from Qrow, and a confused look from Summer.

               “Wouldn’t he give it to his steward anyway? Raven asked with a knowing smile. She knew what Tai was after but wouldn’t let him out of it that easily.

               “Yeah, but… But he’s pretty tight lipped with information he thinks is irrelevant. If you were there, he might be more willing to talk about it, and maybe you would catch something I wouldn’t!” He said.

               Raven shrugged. It was a poor excuse, but any more and Summer might notice something was up.

               “Sure, Why not?” She said, much to Qrow and Taiyang’s relief.

               “Great! Then let’s get going!” Taiyang said quickly.

               Raven rested a hand on Qrow’s shoulder. “Summer, tell him all about your new weapon ideas, he’s been wanting to build a new one for months.” She said jokingly, amused by the way summer’s eyes lit up.  Qrow chuckled gently as Summer started to pepper him with questions.

               Never say she wasn’t a good sister.

               Raven and Taiyang left the pub and briskly began their walk to the old quarter of Asgard, where Loki had built himself a small workshop and spent most of his time.

               “You owe me,” Raven said suddenly as they entered to old quarter.

               “What for?” Taiyang asked.

               “Qrow told me about your bet.”

               “Oh.” Taiyang said as they walked. A moment later something must have sunken in as he paused, his face turning Beet red “ _Oh_ ,” he said louder.

               Raven turned. “Yes, you bet that f he beat you drinking you would be his wingman with Summer.” She explained, a grin on her face.

               ‘Right, That one.” Taiyang said, visibly relaxing.

 Raven looked at him, “What? Was there another bet?” Raven asked suspiciously.

“Raven, there have been tons of bets, nothing for you to worry about.” He said as he began to walk again. Raven rolled her eyes as she fell into step beside him.

“But,” he said, “in appreciation for your help I’ll by a drink at the Drunken Crow tonight.”

“Let’s talk to Loki first. And then we can talk about where you’ll by me a drink” Raven replied, casting a sidelong glance at Taiyang. Her eyes narrowed as she saw him blushing slightly.

* * *

 

Remnant: Present Day

Raven gazed down at a certain Blonde-haired goddess, walking next to her was her sister and two close friends. Or maybe it was one close friend and one lover, she had never had the time to grasp the intricacies of Yin’s Relationship with Belladonna.

The four were resting around a campfire. Three tents had been set up earlier in the day, and plenty of firewood had been gathered. Raven had watched as they had sat down for dinner watching as the four had discussed their time in Remnant. Ruby and Yin had thankfully been kept together while Belladonna had escaped with the aid of Summer before meeting up with Qrow and Herself. Arc, interestingly enough, had been captured by Glynda, who then released him after being told the situation facing the gods.

Raven thought the stories were interesting, and part of her strangely wished for Qrow’s company, his commentary would have made the stories much more amusing to be sure. Although they would have also likely revealed that the four of gods of Vytal were being followed.

So instead, she watched silently as her estranged daughter instead enjoyed herself, her shoulder acting as Belladonna’s headrest. Raven felt the pang of regret that always followed. For years should had demanded nothing but strength, then had gone from that to seeing nothing but duty, and in doing so, had lost so much.

Part of her wanted to leap down, reveal herself, and beg for forgiveness. But she did not, instead she watched from a distance, making sure her daughter and those closest to her would sleep soundly tonight, even if she did not. 

 

              

 

 

 

              

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say, this mini arc is probably roughly halfway done. I'm enjoying writing about Raven, but I'm not sure how good a job I'm doing. What do you think? 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! 
> 
> Please comment if you have the time, comments and Constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.


	45. No Rest for The Weary

Ragnarok 46

 

               Lie looked over the rubble of several buildings in Mountain Glenn. He gazed at the ruined buildings, some torn down by Grimm attacks, others by simple age and decay. Broken glass littered the ground, the occasional crinkle as he stepped on a shard causing both he and Valkyrie to tense.

               Salem had assured them that the branes would have left Mountain Glenn soon after having the battle, a hidden base was useless after it had been discovered, especially when one’s foe could wield endless hordes of Grimm.

               Lie had to agree, their foes, and friends, were not stupid enough to remain in such a position once they had been found. However, Lie had still intentionally taken his time getting there, he did not want to unexpectedly run into the group. He would not have the element of surprise, nor any backup, and there was no guarantee that Neo would come through for them again.

               “Ren! The tunnel’s over here!” Valkyrie called out with more exuberance than he could have expected given their surroundings. He smiled, happy that Nora was still in good cheer. He walked over quietly, the rubble and dirt crunching beneath his boots.

               “Shall we?” He asked, somewhat playfully, trying to do his part to lighten the mood.

               Valkyrie nodded, rolling her shoulders she unlatched magnified from its holster, carrying it in front of her in its grenade launcher form.

               “There probably won’t be any Grimm down there,” Lie pointed out. He glanced around, “speaking of Grimm, we haven’t seen any so far.”

               “They could all be hiding below ground, just because we haven’t seen them yet doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

               Lie nodded, seeing the logic behind the argument, even if he would have debated the Grimm’s ability to hide.

               Valkyrie marched forward, weapon at the ready. Behind her lie followed, glancing back at the ruins of Mountain Glenn before they vanished behind the rocky slope the were walking down.

               _“Is this what’ll happen to Remnant?”_ He wondered. A part of him churned at the idea, but he quickly buried the emotion. It didn’t matter, what he was doing was necessary, both to save his friends and all the worlds. But that didn’t make it any less evil. A necessary evil perhaps, but evil nonetheless.

               It didn’t take long for them to reach the bottom of the cavern, Valkyrie holstered her weapon as the remains of their battle with Glynda and her allies appeared before them. The cavern was in ruins, but it still seemed structurally sound.

               “At least it won’t fall on us.” Valkyrie pointed out. Tapping a stone pillar, seemingly carved out of the rock itself.

               Lie nodded, quickly heading towards the ruins of the warehouse where the fight began.

               “What are we looking for? Is there anything we could actually track the Branden’s with down here?” She asked, following close behind.

               “You broke Raven’s odachi correct?” Lie asked.

               Valkyrie nodded, “yeah, but it’s probably buried under a ton of rubble. Assuming she didn’t collect it before leaving.”

               Lie swallowed, hoping that Raven hadn’t been that thorough.

               “Let’s hope she didn’t, the Branwen’s won’t show up on TV again anytime soon.” Lie replied already starting to sift through the rubble, rent metal gently pulled out of the broken remains of the warehouse. Lie and Valkyrie became absorbed in the work, searching for the glint of red that would indicate Raven’s deadly blade.

               Time passed quickly as the searched, hauling metal and concrete away from their impromptu dig site. Valkyrie rapidly hauled large cinderblocks away while Lie sifted through the metal, hoping to find some trace of the blade. “Lie…” Valkyrie said her voice barely above a whisper, the massive cinderblock she was holding slipped from her grasp, crashing behind her, she didn’t even notice.

               Lie looked up, concern etching his face as he saw how deathly pale Valkyrie was.  He walked over, a sharp breath his only response as he took in what Valkyrie had unearthed.

               The stench would have been overpowering to most, but nothing new to the two gods. Lie knelt, his gaze at what remained.

               “He was probably crushed by the collapse, from the looks of it, he didn’t even feel it.” Lie said halfheartedly, trying to comfort his distraught friend.

               Valkyrie shivered. “We should bury him.”

               Lie nodded. “We could use the break.”

               He leaned down to lift the corpse when a glint of red caught his eye. Partially revealed by the shifting rubble, crimson metal glittered in the half light of the cavern.

               He glanced down at the remains of their departed ally. Silver hair blackened with dried blood.  He gently lifted what remained, holding the once cocky boy in his arms.

               “Nora, can you pick that up?” Lie asked gently thrusting his head towards the blade, “I think I found our lead.”

 

               Night had fallen long before the gods had decided to set up camp. It had not taken them long, raising three tents, and starting a warm fire was hardly an arduous task. For Ruby, Yin and Belladonna, it was a reminder of how much things had changed, and how much better they were feeling now that their team had, to some extent, come back together.

               For Arc, the feeling was far from happy. He spent most of the time fussing with his own tent, or gathering the required kindling to start the fire. For the most part, he was quiet, offering quiet thanks or giving brief requests at infrequent intervals. Long after dinner, some Atlas rations softened in boiling water, Arc sat, his in wandering as he gazed into the fire, as if trying to perceive exactly what had happened to his team.

               It was no surprise, in retrospect, when he hardly noticed that the others, save Belladonna, had headed to bed.

               The crunching of sticks woke him from his stupor, he glanced up quickly enough to see Belladonna pat Yin’s hand, before the goddess left for their shared tent, her Blonde hair practically glowing in the darkness.

               Belladonna turned to him, her face formed in a Grim expression. Arc shivered, Belladonna’s catlike gaze could make him feel uncomfortable at times, but the deep red irises and black sclera brought up a more visceral feeling, one that he couldn’t quiet place, something between shame and fear. The flickering of the fire wasn’t reflected in her eyes, it spoke of something unnatural, dark and sinister.

               “They’ll be fine. You know, that right?” She said abruptly.

               “Huh?”

               “Ren and Nora, we can rescue them, and Pyrrha is strong enough to handle anything that gets thrown at her.” Belladonna continued, “I don’t know how that Salem person is controlling them, but taking her out will surely bring them to their senses.” Her voice was tinged with hope. No doubt she hoped to comfort him, but the words did little. Rather than comfort him Belladonna’s words made Arc feel like curling into a ball.

               “That’s not what I’m worried about.” He said gently, resisting the urge avert his gaze from his friend, “I’m worried that they aren’t under her control, Qrow said something that bothers me.”

               “What did he say?” Belladonna asked, leaning forward.

               Arc sighed, scratching his head as he exhaled, “he said that Ren told him he didn’t have much of a choice but to fight us. Everyone is thinking that means mind control, but we’ve never encountered a Grimm that could control people so thoroughly. I’m wondering if Ren meant something different.”

               “You think Ren and Nora would willingly attack us? Try to kill us?” The words came out like an accusation, a faint look of betrayal on belladonna’s face giving away her thoughts.

               “But they didn’t. they knocked us out.” Arc argued, ignoring her tone, “if they were under some sort of complete mind control they would have attacked us too.”

               Belladonna paused, she rubbed her chin with a grimace. She inhaled, closed her eyes and then exhaled, before glaring at him.

               “Let’s say for a second you are right, what could cause them to attack the very people we gods are supposed to protect?” She asked.

               “I don’t know!” Arc said frustration clear in his voice. “Ren and Nora would never betray us, we’re their friends!”

               “Then there is no point in thinking about this. We simply don’t have the information and we likely won’t get it any time soon.”

               Arc nodded, “you’re right, but I can’t shake this feeling that I should be doing something.”  He waved his hands helplessly, “I’m sitting here doing nothing! And my team is out there either lost or fighting against us for some reason. I just feel helpless.”

               Belladonna smiled. Arc turned his head perplexed at the friendly expression.

“Of course, you do, they’re your friends.” She said as she stood and turned toward the tent she shared with Yin.

               “I’m going to get some rest, try not to brood all night. Trust me, it doesn’t help.”

               “Lots of experience?” Arc asked with some humor.

               “More than enough.” Belladonna replied somberly, walking to her tent.

               As the flap shut behind her Arc was left alone, he stared at the fire, willing it to show him what he was missing. He watched for what seemed like hours, as the flame withered and died, the glowing embers all that remained. He waited until those too vanished before finally retreating to his tent, still lacking the answers he sought.

                ______________________________________________________________________________

 

Fenrir tried to keep his gaze on the flickering flame. The sing-song laughs of his friends and tehri teammates echoing through the small campsite. He flinched as he heard a specific goddess giggle, a cruel reminder of the conundrum he was currently trapped in.

               The others had quickly decided that Fenrir was simply shy around new people, and had, with the exception for the occasional question, allowed him to remain silent and observe their interactions. Ren and Nora were clearly overjoyed to be reunited with their friends. They exchanged tales of what they had done on their way to Shadow Glade. Fenrir had only half listened, keeping most of his thoughts on a finding a solution to the goddess shaped problem sitting directly across from him.

               The simplest solution was to simply kill her. One goddess, likely a lesser one at that, would not be much of a challenge to him. However, it held several consequences, chiefly among them was Ren and Nora’s reactions to such an act. Secondly it would tell every god on Remnant, and there were surely more, that Fenrir, the great wolf, was in Mistral. There was no way she wasn’t in some sort of communication with the others after all, so if she suddenly stopped reporting to whoever oversaw the hunt that would raise eyebrows.

               Another solution was that he could run. Vanish in the middle of the night. Perhaps even leave some sort of message to throw them off his trail.

               That came with its own complications. A goddess shows up claiming to be hunting for a powerful enemy, and he vanishes almost immediately? It would only be a matter of time before Pyrrha says she’s hunting Fenrir and Nora or Ren connect the dots. 

               Third, he could try to befriend the goddess and convince her he meant no harm.

               That was laughable, he doubted it would work, and his previous incarnation had tried such a thing with… mixed results.

               “ _where does that leave me?”_ he thought.

               “Fen.”

               “ _The only plausible one is to kill her and that could go wrong in so many ways.”_

“Fen!”

               “ _Plus, Nora and Ren will be furious, I don’t wanna see them cry, and they would, and what about Ruby, just imagining that little girl cry….”_ He shivered at the thought.

               “Fenrir!” Nora shouted in his ear.

               He bolted upright, his limbs flailing as surprise overtook any rational motor function. He practically tumbled to the ground, rolling to dodge falling into the fire.

               What was that for Nora?” He exclaimed, cheeks reddening as Ruby burst into laughter and Nora snorted with a massive smile. Even Ren was shaking his head with knowing smile, evidently struggling to keep from laughing himself.

               “You were ignoring us! I called you’re name three times!”

               “Sorry I didn’t hear you?”

               “How could you not?” She said with a frown pointing to where she had been sitting. “I said, fen! Fen! And then finally a shouted Fenrir! When someone calls your name, you should respond.”

               Her face split into a grin, “You need to pay more attention to your friends! We were talking about who would win a spar, your or Pyrrha!”

               Fenrir sighed.

               “I don’t know, Pyrrha is probably pretty strong after all.” He said, gesturing to her.

               “Yeah bit I think you’re stronger Fen!”

               He laughed at that, “Sorry Nora, but I don’t think Pyrrha would want to spar with me.” He turned to Pyrrha, his words dying in his throat as he saw the expression on her face.

               Pyrrha was stone still, her mouth opened in the shape of an O, her eyes wide, the emerald irises glowing in the darkness, she had inched away ever so slightly from Fenrir. The others looked on with concern, but Fenrir could see the gears turning, connections being made, pieces of a puzzle she didn’t even know existed clicking into place.

               Jaune and Ruby stood weapons at the ready.

               “What is it Pyrrha?” Ruby asked worriedly. She turned towards the tree line, likely expecting some Grimm to appear at any moment,

               “Is there a Grimm? What are you staring at?” Jaune asked, panic tinging his voice as he scanned the area.

               Fenrir grimaced. Jaune wasn’t necessarily wrong from Pyrrha’s view. She was staring at a being she considered a Grimm. And a dangerous one at that. But she was already recovering. Her body tensed, ready to strike.

               _“Damn it Nora_ ” Fenrir thought. It seemed his decision was made for him.

              

              

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Updates should happen weekly, though I by no means promise it will always be on a Monday!
> 
> Please give a comment of you have the time, I always get that warm bubbly feeling when someone has pointed out something they like, and I'm thrilled when people give ideas on how to improve the story!
> 
> Con-Crit is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Until next time, DeamonHunter


	46. An Unfriendly Spar

Apologies for any errors, I didn't get to do my usual editing process. When I get a chance, I'll do that.

Rwby is owned by roosterteeth, not me.

* * *

"Fenrir!" Nora had shouted.

Pyrrha would have slapped herself for not realizing it earlier, had the situation not been so serious. How could she have not realized it sooner? Nora had called him Fen, clearly a nickname and he had wolf ears, his very appearance screamed wolf.

Perhaps his demeanor, casual and shy, had thrown her off. She had expected an engine of destruction, vicious and brutal, claws and sharp teeth. Instead before her was a being that could be teased and was mild mannered.

She eased herself out of her surprise, her face turning from one frozen in shock to one thick with determination, her mouth scrunched into a narrow line. Fenrir would certainly realize the cat was out of the bag, whatever game he was playing was over. He would need to silence her, and likely the others around them, to remain hidden. He wouldn't take chances when he presumably knew so little.

She tensed, calling upon the maiden power within her, she readied to strike before Fenrir did. She knew well enough that even entertaining the idea of defeating him alone was laughable. But she was still the Fall Maiden, with some luck, she would be able to fend him off long enough to allow the others to escape before fleeing herself. Perhaps if fate was truly on her said, she would be able to injure him, potentially making the coming confrontation between Fenrir and the Guardians of Vytal somewhat easier.

She reached out with her mind, inching her weapon slowly out of its sheath, preparing to launch forward and strike him with her blade, superheated so as to pierce through whatever he used to defend himself.

Fenrir on his part was tensed, clearly readying himself. His face showed shock and concern, no doubt reeling from the surprise of being revealed so early on. He seemed ready too, his hand balling into a fist.

There was silence that felt like it stretched on, the two frozen in ready positions. Each waiting for the other to make a single movement, give enough of an opening to strike.

"Are you going to spar here?" Nora asked, breaking through the silence.

To Pyrrha's surprise, Fenrir almost immediately began to relax, his face turning from an expression fo fear into one of cheer, a lopsided grin appearing on his face.

"Nah, I think we shouldn't fight." Fenrir said, casting a glance at Pyrrha.

 _He doesn't want to fight? Why?"_ She wondered. Her heart began to pound as a singular idea burst forth.

If he didn't want to fight, there could only be one reason, and it made complete sense. It would explain why he so desperately avoided fighting her, as well as why he hung around the mortals before her. It would explain why he wasn't leading an army of Grimm, razing villages, shattering Remnant's armed forces and leaving nothing but ash and ruin in his wake.

For whatever reason, Fenrir did not have all his powers. It wasn't something she could prove, and of course Fenrir wouldn't admit to it if it was true, but it was the only rational explanation. He would avoid a upfront spar, because he didn't know if he would win. Instead, he would wait for her to drop her guard and kill her discretely. Perhaps it would appear to be an accident, likely if he wanted to keep hiding from others, a tragic grimm attack or some such incident would be ideal for his plans.

If she was right, perhaps she could kill him here and now. But he also needed to avoid getting Ruby and her friends involved. If they fought with him, she doubted she could handle all five of them at once.

The spar would be a perfect cover.

She smiled, "I think a spar would be a wonderful idea." She said, smiling widely as Nora cheered. She stood dusting herself off as she began to stretch her legs. Discretely watching as panic appeared in Fenrir's eyes. She cheered internally as he struggled to voice his opposition to the idea, but the cheers of Ruby and Nora quickly drowned out his protests.

Finished stretching she stood and turned to Ruby, "Is there another clearing? Somewhere we won't risk damaging the camp?"

Ruby shrugged, but Nora quickly revealed that she knew of one nearby. Pyrrha almost cheered at Fenrir's slumped posture, defeat and fear making themselves known through both his body language and his noncommittal grunts as Nora cheered him on.

Pyrrha hardly noticed as Ren's eyes narrowed in suspicion, a small scowl on his face.

The entire group followed Nora as she led them towards a small clearing she had found on their way to the rendezvous point , the night air was fresh, and the sounds of crickets could easily be heard. Pyrrha glanced up at the stars watching them twinkle. Her mind was in a different place, thinking of Arc as he struggled to sing a song from Midgard. She had no doubt that the song itself was beautiful, but Arc's singing left much to be desired. The effort was appreciated however. This night reminded her of that one. And when all this was over, perhaps she could experience more nights like that one, which happened so many years ago.

"We don't have to do this," came a pleading voice, snapping her out of her reverie. Her eyes, which had drifted shut snapped open. She ignored the voice.

"Pyrrha please don't put me in a position where I have to hurt you. I don't want to do that." Fenrir pushed.

Pyrrha could almost laugh. Wasn't hurting everyone Fenrir's reason for living? The lie was simply too absurd to even be considered.

"I won't let you hurt anyone." Pyrrha said, eyes forward as she followed Nora.

"You think I  _like_  killing? Destroying things?" The words were laced with hurt, clearly just another ploy be the devious wolf.

"You exist to destroy, you're very existence brings death and destruction." She snarled.

Fenrir did not respond, instead falling behind to walk with Ren, who was in the rear. Pyrrha willed herself not to glance at Fenrir, pushed herself not to empathize, to not let the seed of doubt be planted in her mind. It was harder than she expected.

"And we're here!" Nora said as she stepped into the clearing.

It was small but it was nearly glowing with life. Fireflies drifted lazily through the air, illuminating the tall grass around them. Beyond that was the tree line, densely packed woods would make combat difficult if the fight drifted into the forest, incentivizing both the stay inside the clearing.

"What are th rules?" Ren asked.

"Stop when aura is the red?" Nora offered.

Fenrir nodded halfheartedly, clearly knowing the likelihood of Pyrrha stopping then.

Pyrrha nodded more aggressively, her eyes already narrowed as she mentally prepared herself for the fight she had been training for her entire life, even if she didn't know it.

"Ok, There are no out of bounds, but you have to come back here to be declared the winner!" Nora shouted pulling a whistle out of nowhere and raising her hand.

"Combatants, get ready!" She said.

Pyrrha and Fenrir walked into the center of the clearing, probably only ten or fifteen paces apart. Pyrrha drew her sword and shield, he sword bursting into flames by the power of Fall. Fenrir raised his fists.

"Fighting unarmed?" Pyrrha asked. Fenrir didn't respond, his face set into a pout.

"On your mark!" Nora shouted raising the whistle to her lips. She glanced at her friends, each of whom stepped back into the tree line, before turning back to the two foes.

The shriek of the whistle broke through the forest as she brought her arm down in a chopping motion.

Pyrrha surged forward, lashing out with one leg wreathed in flames. Fenrir slipped backwards and shoved off with his foot, the blow narrowly missing him as he spun out of the way of a slash that followed. Pyrrha paused, raising her shield in preparation for a counterattack that didn't come. Her eyes flickered with confusion for a moment. She took a breath and surged forward again.

Team RNJR watched in awe as the two dueled. The deathmatch had begun.

Pyrrha swapped her grip on Milo as she turned it into its javelin form. She flung her shield, aiming for Fenrir's chest. He slammed it out of the way with one fist, the shield digging int the ground nearby. She reached out, fire bursting forth from her outstretched hand, Fenrir hissed as he leapt out of the way, falling into a roll as he scrambled out of the way. He barely ducked as Pyrrha launched milo at him, the javelin passing over his head.

He reached up and grabbed the edge of the shaft, using it's remaining momentum to divert and drive the weapon into the ground.

"Stop this Pyrrha. This fight is pointless." Fenrir argued. Pyrrha took the moment's reprieve to reach out to her weapons, dragging them back to her.

Fenrir rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Damn semblances." He muttered as he readied himself again.

Pyrrha smiled as she shifted Milo back into its sword form. He had barely dodged her probing attacks, evidently Fenrir was either trying to drag out the fight or struggling to counter her attacks. Either option led her back to the belief that Fenrir was somehow weakened, likely greatly.

She surged forward once again, close combat would give her an advantage and even if he could fight unarmed, she was certainly strong enough to take a few blows.

To the Hunters-in-training Pyrrha and Fenrir's next clash seemed to be a graceful dance. A twirl of bronze and black with the occasional burst of light from Pyrrha's flames. Her blade glittered in the moonlight as she slashed and stabbed, her target nimbly dodging moments before the blow would have struck. Nora and Jaune looked on in awe and fascination. Ruby on the other hand, furrowed her brow, she nudged Ren, who glanced down.

"Is it just me or is Fen getting faster as the fight goes on?" She asked a hint of concern in her voice.

"I believe they are both still holding back, it seems that Pyrrha has used her maiden powers quite conservatively." Ren surmised.

"I have a bad feeling about this. It doesn't look like a friendly spar to me."

Ren couldn't help but agree. It looked to him the Pyrrha was quite intentionally trying to mortally wound Fenrir. His hand wandered to his weapon, a motion Ruby also did. Clearly both had come to an agreement. They would enforce the rules of this spar.

Back on the battlefield, Pyrrha nor Fenrir had noticed Ren and Ruby's concern. Pyrrha continued to strike with pinpoint precision while Fenrir would either deflect the blows with his hands or move out of the way of her strikes. Pyrrha kept her cool, even as her concern grew. Fenrir gave no hint of tiring, but Pyrrha could already detect the telltale strain of exhaustion in her arms. Her arms were not yet heavy, and she could likely continue at this pace without slowing for some time more, but fighting a foe such as Fenrir when she was tired would certainly be a fatal mistake.

She reached inside her soul and flared her aura, she felt the power of the fall maiden flow through her and forced it out. The clearing quickly burst into flames around her, trees caught fire as the ignited under the raw heat of the flames that burst forth from her aura. Her aura itself blended with the flames, taking on a flickering form similar to fire itself. She wrapped the fire in a circle around them and willed it to grow into a wall, blinding team RNJR from the actions that were to come.

She exhaled, glaring at Fenrir. He returned her stare, a look of disappointment appeared on his face.

"You really want me dead don't you?"

"It's not personal," She said, "you are a threat to those I have sworn to defend, and those who I care for."

She surged forward, ignoring the shouts from those outside the circle of flame. The wind whipped around her as she drove all the power she could muster into her sword, it glowed like molten metal. With so much aura concentrated on the tip of the blade, even Aura as prodigious as Arc's would shatter, Fenrir would certainly be no different. She took aim at Fenrir's heart as she neared him. Fenrir stood still until suddenly, he vanished.

He heart leapt to her throat as a blur appeared before her. She felt one hand wrap around her wrist, intense pressure causing her hand to spasm, Milo falling from her grasp. Before she could react, she felt a knee connect with her stomach. It felt as if she had been struck with an airship. She felt the air forced from her lungs as her body crumpled under the blow. Her vision swam as she dropped to her knees. Fenrir still gripping her wrist. She glared at him, her face contorted in a scowl as she tried to force her body to move.

Shouting from beyond the wall of flames became louder. She turned, taking a breath to shout for help. She felt an elbow slam into the back of her head before the world went black.

Fenrir saw Pyrrha turn to shout, He quickly slammed his elbow into the back of her head. She crumpled like a sack of potatoes.

"We're okay!" He shouted as he lifted the unconscious goddess from the ground and slung her over his shoulder. He lifted her shield and slung it over his free shoulder. He searched for her sword, cursing as he saw the smoldering ruin of what was left. The blade had warped and melted gears and levers fused with part of the blade. The tip was little more than a puddle of melted steel. He turned away and instead rushed through the flames, cursing at the pain he felt. The heat was intense, and he didn't dare think of the burns he would probably have.

Thankfully, the flames were thin, even though they were intense, and he burst through the inferno and nearly crashed into Nora. He dug his foot into the dirt coming to a jerking halt. He panted as Pyrrha was quickly lowered to the ground. Looks of concern apparent on everyone's faces.

"She's just unconscious, after some sleep, she'll be fine." Fenrir said. Relief flood over him as they all relaxed. He turned back to the flames, already, many had died down, the land was scorched and several trees were blackened but there would be no need to move camp tonight.

"So, the maiden's fire is connected with her aura, good to know." He muttered as he turned back to Pyrrha.

"Let's get her back to her tent, she needs the rest." Jaune said quickly. They all nodded, the spar forgotten for the time being.

"We need to talk." Ren whispered as he walked past Fenrir.

Fenrir frowned but nodded.

"Tomorrow, once Pyrrha's awake." He said.

Ren nodded, before turning to follow Jaune Ruby and Nora. Fenrir sighed and followed Ren back to camp.

He cursed his foul luck, he was out of the not-so-proverbial frying pan and straight into the proverbial fire.

* * *

A/N: Apologies for the delay in the chapter being released. The next one should be out on Monday if all goes well.

I'm a little worried about the fight scene between Pyrrha and Fenrir, I like to think I've learned something from my previous ones, but what do you think? leave your opinion in the reviews.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading!

Until next time, DeamonHunter


	47. Raven's Morning After

Valhalla, Many years ago

Raven awoke, her head throbbing. She blinked sluggishly as light broke through her windows, struggling to recall the details of last night. Usually, even when she drank heavily, as she sometimes did with Qrow, she still had a vague grasp of what the evening entailed. This time however, she had no grasp of what, if anything had happened.

She rose to a sitting position, letting the blankets slip off her naked form. She rubbed her palms against her face, struggling to align her thoughts through the jackhammer of pain that slammed inside her head. Slowly, she lowered her hands and opened her eyes, gritting her teeth at the painful light.

" _I am at least in my room. Damn it did Taiyang challenge me to a drinking contest or something?"_

She shook her head, even if she had a drink or two, she would have still been aware enough to refuse any such challenge. Qrow had warned her of the dangers such a contest entailed, and she was not so stupid as to ignore such a warning.

" _But maybe you did"_  A voice in her head whispered. Again, she shook her head, if she could remember last night, things would come into focus, but until then, she would presume she had not done something so stupid.

She rose form the bed, the sheets slipping off with a single step. Her head swam as she stood at her full height. She stretched before turning towards the in-suite bathroom. She paused, turning back towards her closet, she snatched a fresh batch of clothing before quickly spinning on her heel and heading into the bathroom, closing the door quickly but quietly behind her.

The hot water eased the pain in her head somewhat, but gave her no sense of how last night had gone. She scrabbled to piece anything together, but could come up with nothing after their meeting with Loki. The god had little information for them, a few poems and myths, several prophecies from long forgotten authors. But nothing concrete.

She sighed as she cut the water, leaving her standing in the shower, only the sound of water dripping from her hair interrupting the silence.

Where did this leave them? They had no good leads to follow, not to mention that the beast would likely be reluctant to serve the gods. In all honesty, Odin would keep it as a pet, or worse, another enforcer of his will, another tool in which to tighten his grip as master of all the gods.

Raven took a towel and quickly dried herself, she ran her hands through her hair. She frowned as she felt how long it had gotten. She would have to tie it back sometime soon, or it would begin to get in the way as she fought.

She dressed in a slow methodical manner, before stepping back into her room. She walked over to reach for her Odachi, before remembering she had not made her bed. She shrugged, it would matter little she thought as she attached her weapon to her belt. The sheets likely smelled of alcohol and would need to be washed.

She turned ready to remove the sheets from the bed. Instead she paused, her face turning sour quickly as she saw a shock of blonde hair and a heavily muscled and tanned arm.

Taiyang was sleeping like a baby. A self-satisfied smirk on his face. His hand gently gripped the blankets as his other arm was nestled under his head.

Raven sighed rubbing her eyes with a thumb and index finger.

 _"well, apparently last night was eventful."_  She thought to herself. Surprisingly, she felt no anger, but more annoyance with a hint of bemusement. Annoyed, in that she would need to put effort in convincing Summer that Raven had no long-term intentions towards Taiyang, as supremely understanding as Summer could be. Screwing the apparent object of her affections was likely to put a damper on their teamwork.

She would also have to be very clear with Taiyang that there was nothing between them. A drunken night of pleasure was all it had been.

With these thoughts, still on her mind she left her room, making sure to slam the door shut behind her. She grinned as she heard a slurred yelp of surprise. Taiyang would certainly be up shortly.

Qrow's appearance as she walked towards the cantina was not unwelcome, but the impish grin on his face was.

"Have a good night sis?" He asked, his tone implying that he knew more of what was going on last night than he was revealing.

She gave him a gentle glare, one that would stop most gods in their tracks, but only made Qrow's grin grow.

"How about yours, your date with Summer go well?" She asked, not missing a beat.

Qrow nodded, practically glowing. "It went fantastically, thanks for your help. The weapons talk was a fantastic way to break the ice!"

Raven quirked an eyebrow, she didn't think Qrow would thank her for inspiring Summer to talk his ear off. But if it helped, all the better.

"So, is there a second one in the making?"

Qrow nodded, "next week, Summer is planning it."

This caused Raven to pause. "Summer is planning it?" She had always thought summer was attracted to Taiyang.

Qrow laughed. "I asked her for a second date, she agreed and insisted on planning it."

"That is a surprise." Raven admitted.

"Not as much as a surprise as you and Blondie."

"Nothing happened Qrow." Raven defended.

"Right, nothing happened." Qrow replied sarcastically.

Raven punched him in the shoulder before striding off. Qrow chuckled bemusedly watching his sister stride off, before he sighed.

He turned and headed towards his sister's room at a near jog.

Raven arrived at the cafeteria to see Summer already sitting at a table. She snatched a packaged breakfast, not even glancing to see what the ingredients were before heading over to sit with her. Raven sat down quietly, struggling to ignore the triumphant grin on Summer's face.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Summer asked.

"The rumor mill is far too creative in Asgard." Raven replied, slowly rocking her chair on its back legs.

"Well, I'm sure rumors of me and Qrow are going around as well." Summer said lackadaisically.

This caused Raven to pause. She gave Summer an odd glance, causing Summer to burst into laughter.

"No! No! We didn't copy you and Taiyang!"

"how does everyone seem to know about that?" Raven asked leaning forward one hand rubbing her forehead. "I thought you had a thing for Taiyang."

"No, he's a nice guy but I don't think he is for me." Summer said. Raven desperately struggled to ignore the underlying tones in her teammates voice.

"As for the rumors, I think you practically dragging him back to your room had something to do with it."

"I did what?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, you drank some alcohol, he drank some alcohol, you decided to have some fun." She said, waving one hand. "Really, with the puppy dog eyes he's been giving you, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."

"He has not been giving me puppy dog eyes." Raven said. come to think of it, Taiyang had been quite enthusiastic about bringing her rather than the others to Loki yesterday. Was that what Summer meant?

"Tell yourself that if you want, but Taiyang has a crush on you." Sumemr said, but there was a hint of defeat in her voice.

"Says the socially awkward girl who spoke in nods and waves for the first two months I knew you."

Summer frowned at that, "I told you I was shy!"

Raven shrugged, not really minding the putting glare she was being given.

"So, what are you planning for my brother?" She asked, trying to switch up the conversation somewhat.

Summer brightened at the new subject, "I'm taking Qrow on a pub crawl!"

Raven nearly laughed at that. If it hadn't been so predictable, it might have just surprised her.

"I didn't know you drank much."

"I don't but Qrow does, and he needs to have fun. He suffered through my talking about the minute differences in ballistic designs, the least I can do is make sure he enjoys our date."

"So, you two are a…" Raven waved her finger back and forth, this conversation as strange. She could have sworn Summer had feelings for Taiyang, but here she was, dating Raven's brother.

"A thing? Dating? Seeing each other?" Summer supplied. Raven nodded dumbly.

"Well, it is basically a first date, so how about we just see where it goes?"

Raven nodded. Silence reigned for a few moments between the two teammates.

"'So, wanna spar?" Summer proposed. Raven nodded a spar would be good, refreshing even. And it would allow her to clear her head, and concentrate on the task ahead of her, completing her and Qrow's new mission from Odin.

* * *

"So, what did Loki tell you guys?" Summer asked as they sat on a bench, catching their breath.

"There are some myths about a being called Fenrir. Supposedly brings about a long winter and then complete disaster. The death of the Gods tends to be a result."

"Certainly, sound like the being Odin wants us to catch." Summer said. "Dangerous enough and certainly powerful."

"Yes,' Raven agreed "but what evidence do we have that Fenrir will even listen?"

"Did Loki have any answer for that?"

Raven shook her head. "He had nothing, absolutely nothing solid about Fenrir. As far as he could guess, Fenrir is some sort of being that Yggdrasil brings into existence at a seemingly random time. There's no record of Fenrir beyond myths so far in the past that fact and fiction are inseparable. For all we know, Fenrir could be a god that's a hermit."

"Well then, talking to him would be a clever idea. If we befriend him won't we learn more about why he exists?"

Raven shrugged, as she stood and walked back towards the arena. Summer followed raising her weapon, a large chained axe, over her shoulder.

"I don't think he'll be easygoing enough that we can just say: hi, let's be friends." Raven replied drawing her odachi.

Summer charged in axe already mid swing. Raven ducked underneath, slashing at her friend. Summer raised one booted foot she tried to slam it down on the blade, but raven retreated.

"It's better than nothing. Do we have any idea which world he could be on?"

"Taiyang said he'd check for weather patterns. With any luck, one of them has been going through an unusually long winter." Raven pushed forward, grabbing the pole of Summer's axe. She thrusted with her weapon, surging forward to give Summer no time to escape. Summer neatly moved out of the way of the attack, but almost certainly wouldn't be able to avoid the next strike.

"That sounds like the beginning of a plan to me. What happens when we find him?" Summer asked, releasing her grip on her weapon and leaping backwards. She drew a small knife the kind used for skinning animals. Its obsidian blade glowed faintly purple. A clear sign the weapon was more than met the eye.

"Find him, persuade him to come with us, let Odin deal with the rest." Raven summarized. As she dropped Summer's axe and charged forward slashing downwards followed by an upwards slash that caught Summer in the shoulder.

The flash of white aura gave neither of them much comfort as Summer hissed in pain. She tumbled out of bounds slamming into the concrete flooring outside the ring.

"Damnit. What is that now?" Summer asked. Sprawling her arms and legs out.

"Thirty to thirty-four, you're still in the lead."

"You're catching up fast." She said pushing herself up.

"Spare me," Raven said holding a hand out for Summer. Summer took it and was quickly hauled to her feet. She nodded in appreciation before turning towards the doorway. She tapped Raven quickly,

"Tall, blonde and hunky's here to see you."

"And tall scraggly and drunk's here for you."

The two of them stood in the door way, clearly searching for their teammates. Their heads turning left and right.

Raven and Summer walked forward. Qrow and Taiyang quickly saw them, and almost immediately straightened up.

"Hi Raven." Taiyang said awkwardly, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Hello Taiyang, any additional information about Fenrir?"

"no, sorry." He said dejectedly, "But I was hoping we could talk? You and me? Alone?"

Raven nodded. Taiyang seemed to relax. "Great, there's a restaurant in the marketplace that has great sandwiches."

Qrow and Summer watched the duo walk off. Summer held out her hand. And Qrow high fived it with a smile.

"So, how long do you give em?" he asked.

Summer looked at him with a grin, "If there isn't a kid by next year I'll be surprised."

"I'm not sure if I should take that bet." Qrow said shaking his head

"Seems someone is becoming smarter."

"but I meant how long do you give their relationship? Raven may seem reclusive, but if she opens up, she's all fire and passion. Tai's not too different. That could be explosive."

"Raven? Passionate? I thought she would calm Tai down." Summer said.

"Did I ever tell you what she would do to bullies back in Vanaheim?"

"Beat them to a pulp?" She guessed

Qrow shook his head. "She wouldn't lift a finger most of the time. Kid slammed into a locker? She would say they should've fought back."

"What if they bullied you?"

"At first, she didn't do anything, but there was one time it got bad, really bad. I remember running up to her, bloody and bruised and bawling my eyes out. She took one look, sat me down and told me to wait. Five minutes later she was back and taking me to the nurse. They on the other hand didn't come back to school for months."

"She injured them that badly?"

"Nope," Qrow said pulling out his flask, "She gave them this glare, and told them to run, they did, they ran screaming like there was no tomorrow. I never figured out how she did it."

Summer glanced at Qrow, "Now that is scary. Remind me never to break your heart."

Qrow laughed, "I'm sure Raven will give you The Talk soon enough."

"So…" Summer began, rubbing one foot against the ground, "are you free tonight?"

"I have nothing going on."

"How do you feel about pub crawls?"

"You've got a date. What time and where?"

* * *

A/N: Romance, angst and the morning after, uh, probably a little cliche, but Raven just doesn't seem the romantic type to me. Of course, we haven't seen much of her and know virtually nothing of her background.

I have zero experience writing romance, and a such this was a bit of a struggle. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Until next week! DeamonHunter


	48. Raven's Afternoon After

Raven followed Taiyang down the hallway. The clacking of heels the only thing breaking the awkward silence between them. Taiyang stood stiffly, an aura of discomfort radiating from him. Raven watched—she was at ease. But could clearly see that what had happened last night likely weighed on his mind. She almost smirked, Taiyang was usually self-assured and confident, looking at him squirm was quite amusing.

Taiyang turned a corner into an empty hallway. He whirled around, Raven stopped short and took a look around.

"An empty hallway. How cliché," she murmured.

"Would you rather have this in public?" Taiyang asked, confusion lacing his voice.

"Not particularly," Raven said shaking her head "but since Qrow and Summer apparently already know, I wouldn't be surprised if the Giants in Jotunheim didn't know by next week."

Taiyang paused sighing before rubbing one temple with two fingers.

"Raven, last night… I uh…."

Raven waited expectantly, her arms crossed in front of her as she waited.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to apologize, I didn't mean for things to go down like that. I wanted to just have drinks, maybe see if we… uh… clicked."

Raven cocked an eye. "So, you planned on seducing me slowly?"

"Well, I didn't expect to get dragged into your bedroom on a first date." he asked, half questioning.

Raven glared at him, her mouth a tight frown.

"What make you think we clicked?"

"We could both bitch and moan about our bosses, and talking to you was easy and fun? Other than that, you challenged me to a drinking game after getting warned by Qrow not to?" He shrugged, "Mostly, I think we clicked because I had a lot of fun, and it looked like you did too."

"Going out for drinks is not a date. Certainly not when you didn't even ask me out on one. Secondly, I'm not interested. Whatever happened last night is not going to happen again."

Taiyang looked blankly. "Why not?" He asked.

Raven blinked, "What? Shouldn't that be obvious?!"

Taiyang raised his hand placatingly, "If you want it to be a one-night stand, fine. I'll accept that, and I'll never mention it again, but I think we clicked. And I'd really like to see where that goes."

"No." Raven said, starting to turn.

"Raven, wait!" Taiyang said, grabbing her arm. She immediately yanked it out of his grasp with a snarl.

"Please, can we just talk about this?" he begged, taking a step back.

"You want to date me; I'm not into romance. What else is there to talk about?" she snapped

"Raven, we talked a lot last night. It was great! It was fun and it was easy in a way I can't even describe. I don't know why you aren't into romance but you've never even given it a shot. Why not try?"

"You're not doing an excellent job selling yourself."

Taiyang sighed and rubbed his head, "you're right, I suck at this. I've never actually tried this before." He looked at her almost pleadingly, "Just one date, no drinks, and let's see where it goes. If it doesn't work, we'll never mention it again."

Raven paused. Honestly,the idea did intrigue her, mostly because maybe it would get Taiyang to stop talking about it. But part of it was something she couldn't exactly piece together. And that nagged at her.

Detecting her silence Taiyang stepped forward. "How about thinking about it for a bit and giving me your answer later? After this mission?"

Raven sighed. "If it will make you shut up, fine. But my decision will be final, no complaints if I say no."

Taiyang nodded, "Agreed, and no hard feelings." He clapped his hands together, a friendly grin appearing on his face. "Now let's get back to the others."

Raven turned and headed back towards the hallway, pausing midway as she hissed in frustration.

Taiyang nearly bumped into her. "Raven, what the- oh…" He said as his eyes fell on the figure in front of them.

"Loki," Raven muttered, "Is there anything you would like sir?"

Loki grinned as he approached them. "Actually, I was hoping to talk to your entire group."

"Sir, I can swear nothing untoward is- "

Loki waved them off. "If anything  _romantic_  is happening, I wish you all the best. This is about your mission. You asked if there were any unusual weather patterns. I have found something odd." He turned to Raven. "And it is in Vanaheim, your homeland."

Summer, Qrow, Raven and Taiyang sat in Loki's antechamber. A relatively large room off Loki's workshop. The group could hear the carts clatter outside; the shouts of fishmongers and stall holders muffled by the thick stone walls.

"Why does he have his workshop in the middle of the city?" Summer asked.

Taiyang shrugged. "He says he likes to chat with the others, builds a sense of community."

"It makes sure that the Vanir in the city don't revolt. He's the face of the Aesir here. It's much harder to fight a neighbor you are on a first name basis with than someone who decrees laws from far away." Qrow said, taking a hearty drink form his flask.

The door to Loki's workshop opened, stray pages fluttering into the room as Loki marched out, holding a pile of papers.

"I have been taking notes of unusually long winters," he began, plopping them on a table. He turned to a small stove with a tea pot. With a flick of his hand, a fire ignited, warming the teapot as he readied several mugs.

"Really, it was a foolish idea, we assumed winter to be a literal winter, but prophecies are never that straightforward. When I started looking at symbolic winters, I started getting somewhere." Loki said.

"Winter symbolism?" Summer asked.

"Winter is associated with many things; all the seasons are." Raven explained.

Loki nodded. "Quite right. Winter is symbolic of old age, silence and contemplation among a host of other things." He said lifting the steaming teapot and pouring boiling water into each mug.

"For example, I started to look for extensive famines, unusual cases of old age, and worlds plagued by silence. Eventually I found one." He handed a mug to each of the gods, before him.

Raven looked down at the brown liquid in her cup. Summer sniffed it experimentally.

"Instant coffee, Tyr's newest invention." Loki explained.

Raven drank it experimentally, it was bitter, but not overly so.

"Anyway, back to the discussion." Loki said taking a drink of his own. "I found what I was looking for on Vanaheim."

"What did you find?" Taiyang asked.

"Do you know there is still a guerilla war on Vanaheim? The Aesir-Vanir war is over, and most of the Vanir submitted, but several radical groups still fight. It is one of the reasons the Aesir have not expanded their base of operations into Vanaheim. Our outposts always get brutally attacked."

Raven nodded. Odin had never sent her on a mission there, but she knew of the groups, more out for vengeance than anything else.

"It turns out, recently the conflict has toned down dramatically. The reasons are surprising."

"And they are?"

"It turns out that there has been a mass famine on Vanaheim, even as food grows and animals graze, the Vanir rebel groups starve. The crisis has come to the point where several groups have recently turned themselves in for help.

"Did you find out what was going on?"

Loki shook his head. "I would have liked to find out what was causing it, it likely would have helped repair the Aesir's reputation among the Vanir. Unfortunately, Thor had other ideas of how the rebels should be treated."

", no one else is coming forward, and Grimm attacks in the area have become somewhat coordinated, further increasing difficulties of actually communicating in Vanaheim. Either problem on their own would be concerning, but together…."

"You think it has something to do with the prophecy. Winter brings famine to many unprepared communities, and this threat has been called a wolf, a pack animal."

"You think it is leading packs of Grimm?" Qrow asked incredulously.

Loki nodded. "It is only an idea, but if it is true, it could be a severe problem. And will make any attempt to befriend Fenrir that much more difficult. I doubt Fenrir will be amicable to the very people whose job it is to kill his pack."

"A good point. But at least we have a lead. We should leave for Vanaheim immediately." Summer said.

Loki nodded, "a wise choice. But Summer and Qrow, why don't you go ahead and prepare the gate. I wish to talk to Taiyang and Raven."

His tone made it clear that this was not a proposal. Summer and Qrow quickly nodded and quickly left. Leaving Raven and Taiyang alone with Loki.

Loki took another sip of coffee before sitting down on a stool. He remained silent for some time, watching the two of them.

Taiyang broke first, "why did you want to talk with us sir?" He asked.

"Are you two in a romantic relationship?" He asked.

"No." Raven said. Loki cocked an eye, clearly not believing her.

"It is an uncertain thing." Taiyang said awkwardly. Loki nodded.

"The rumors of your forays last night have already spread quite far. I would recommend you be more discrete in the future." Loki advised. Raven bit back a retort that there wasn't going to be such a future.

"I understand." Taiyang said quickly.

Loki shook his head, "No you do not." Loki took a breath as he placed his mug on a nearby stack of papers. "Odin would not be pleased if one of his aides was in any sort of romantic affair. His thinks it divides loyalty."

"So Hugin and Munnin were just single their entire lives."

"Celibate actually. Though I doubt Odin would have minded if they occasionally decided to have some fun."

Taiyang nor Raven responded.

"Personally, I have nothing against the two of you being together, but if you do decide to move forward, be careful and more importantly, be discrete."

Loki smiled, 'And when you get back, feel free to come by and get some more coffee. I look forward to enlightening conversations with Fenrir." With that he set his ug down on a stack of papers. "And know I must be getting back to my workshop, if I find anything of relevance, I will inform you immediately."

Both Raven and Taiyang knew the comment was a indicaton that it was their time to leave. They stood hastily and headed for the door, Raven glanced back, Loki gave her an encouraging smile and a wave, she nodded in thanks before following Taiyang out onto the busy street.

Remnant

The Present

Lie closed his eyes as he grasped the broken blade in his hand, he reached out with his aura trying to sense the residue of Raven's Aura, A residue that would certainly be in any weapon raven had carried with her for years. In some respects, Raven's weapon was the best tool he could have asked for. It was undoubtedly a part of her identity and shared a long history with its owner. If this item could not lead him to raven than nothing could.

He felt, more than sensed a warmth inside the weapon. He held back a smile as he pushed with his mind, willing his semblance to reach into the blade and memorize Raven's aura. He felt his aura wrap around Raven's and smiled.

"Now show me where she is." He whispered. His aura, guided by his semblance flowed through the blade, and shot out in two separate directions.

"Ren! This isn't normal." Valkyrie said, her voice edged with concern. Ren frowned as he opened his eyes. Watching the gently glowing paths made by his aura, as the coursed in two separate directions.

"it seems the Raven from Remnant and the one from Vytal have similar aura signatures."

"That will make finding Remnant's Raven much harder." Valkyrie muttered.

Lie nodded. "It seems we have to pick one, and leave the other to Salem."

"What happens if we pick the wrong one?" Valkyrie asked. "We run into a goddess who we were just fighting."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Lie said as he looked up. He followed one of the aura paths as it lazily made its way east.

"This one leads towards Mistral," he said before turning and pointing at the other one, "this one leads back towards Vale."

"Well, I suppose mistral it is." Valkyrie said.

Lie nodded in agreement.

"Just one sec." Valkyrie asked, turning towards the dirt mound the had just finished. She stared down at it.

"Your death won't be for nothing." She promised.

Lie stayed silent, in quiet repose as his eyes followed the aura path above them. It would be their second time into Mistral. Last time, they had dueled Qrow Branwen. This time, they hoped to defeat his sister and drag her back to Salem. Lie rubbed his chest, he felt no anger or sorrow, only the cold desire to finish this, to get back to his friends, to stop the endless cycle of destruction that came with the war between Grimm and the Gods.

He sighed and turned to Valkyrie.

"Nora, we need to go." He urged. Valkyrie nodded.

"Coming Ren!"

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	49. The Fall of Valhalla

 

Valhalla, long ago but closer to the present than before.

Asgard, The City of the Gods, power base of the Aesir. It had stood for millennia, unchallenged in its power and grandeur. Inside the city, the wealthy and the poor mingled, grocers sold fruits and vegetables next to jewelers. There were small pubs and massive restaurants. Children had played in the city’s many parks. The scent of the city made Raven feel at ease. Like it or not, the city had slowly but surely become her home. The scent of the streets was relaxing.

How strange it was that now, as she stood in what was once the city’s main park, she could smell nothing but ash and blood. The sound of laughter gone, replaced by screams and the snarls of Grimm.

Raven bit her lip, cursing herself. “ _This is my fault._ ”

“Raven! Get back in the fight!” Taiyang shouted as he swung his hammer into another Grimm, taking the massive reptilian beasts jaw off as the rest began to dissolve.

               Raven nodded and leapt forward, her blade cleaving through an massive ape-like Grimm. The beast howled as it fell, but the howls were quickly drowned out by the snarls of a charging Ursa. Raven readied herself to meet the beast, but it crashed to the ground before even reaching her, a bladed weapon connected to a chain whipping past her.

               She glanced backwards. Summer approached, flicking the weapon back into her hand.  Her other busy spinning the weight at the end of the chain.

               “The park is indefensible,” She said, glancing around her with displeasure. “We need to retreat back to the castle.”

               “But what about the people still trapped in the city?”

               “We can’t reach them.” Raven pointed out. “It would be a waste of our time and our lives. We can only hope that the guardians can airlift them out.”

               Taiyang nodded. “We should never have trusted that Wolf.”

               “We should have known we were getting played,” Qrow muttered, his shoulder slumped.

               Raven saw Summer glance at their friends, uncertain of exactly what to say.  She placed a hand on Summer’s shoulder.

               “There was no way you could have known. None of us could have.” Raven comforted, the words came out half-hollow.

               The signs were there. Fenrir had been cordial – curious even - about Valhalla. His questions were innocent enough, what was Asgard like? Did they have tasty food? Would he get to sleep in a bed?

               Raven and Qrow both should have taken the warnings more seriously. Fenrir could control the Grimm—or at least direct them—and that alone should have spoken volumes about which side he was on in the war between light and dark. They had ignored it instead, Qrow because he saw how Fenrir and Summer interacted. The platonic chattiness allaying any fears he had. Raven simply hadn’t been paying attention, to wrapped up in how to reject Taiyang without destroying him or their friendship.  Maybe if she had paid attention she would have caught something, she knew there was something off, that voice whispering in the back of her head told her to be wary, but she had buried it. All the evidence had pointed to her instincts being wrong, but she had her heads in the damn clouds rather than on the ground.

               Really, they had forgotten the most basic part of their training: Be a fucking professional. Emotions and personal problems can wait until the mission is over.

               Raven had forgotten, and now it had killed thousands of people.

An explosion near the palace snatched their attention.

               “No…” Summer breathed, her eyes wide with shock.

               “They’re already attacking the palace?” Qrow murmured, “but all the evacuees are there.”

               “Thor’s dead….” Summer uttered.

               A sharp intake of breath was all the response Summer got.

               “How is that possible?” Taiyang shouted.

               “I felt it. he’s dead.”

               “But he’s the supreme commander. Who’s in command now?” Qrow asked.

               Raven shook her head. “Nobody is. If they are at the palace Odin will be fighting. With Thor gone any effective organized defense of Valhalla is impossible.”

               “Can’t you take control?” Taiyang asked desperately.

               “Me?” Raven asked, pointing to herself with a half-smile on her face as she struggled to stop the laugh that threatened to leave her chest.

               “Your mother ruled the Vanir! Surely they’ll- “

               “She ruled by election.” Qrow interrupted. “Succession was different among the Vanir.”

               “Still- “

               “Not to mention I serve Odin, the conqueror of the Vanir. Do you really think anyone who identifies as a Vanir would follow me?” Raven asked. Taiyang’s eyes dropped and his shoulders slumped. He didn’t answer, but his reaction was enough.

               Summer marched forward. Her eyes steely as she began to speak. “Then we have no choice, we have to start evacuating the people of Valhalla.”

               “Right you are.” An aged voice said from behind them. The four turned to see who had spoken. They were faced with a god dressed in mere woolen cloth, a dark grey jerkin and leggings. Leather greaves were hastily strapped to his legs and a chain mail shirt was just visible under his jerkin. His hair was clean shaven on the side, and the center was wrapped into a short ponytail. He grinned as he walked up, holstering the two small axes he carried.

               “Lord Baldur” Raven greeted, snapping a quick salute.

               “No time for formalities Raven.” He said,  as the four gods gathered around him, “Valhalla has, by and large, fallen. This is of course, an unprecedented situation. No Grimm has stepped foot in Valhalla, let alone Asgard, in over five thousand years.”

               “So, what should we do?”

“There isn’t much we can do. I am in contact with the other commanders, but our defenses are collapsing, in a matter of hours we will be trapped in the city center, and that was assuming Fenrir wasn’t inside the palace.”

“Thor is...” Summer began struggling as her voice gave out. Baldur nodded, his eyes softened with empathy. “I know, and word has spread that Fenrir has mounted Odin’s head on a pike. The rumor has crushed the soldier’s morale. To make things worse, we’ve lost contact with Loki and Hel. They could have been vital to Valhalla’s evacuation.”

There’s nowhere to go. Even if we leave Valhalla, there isn’t another place where we can live.” Taiyang said.

               Baldur shook his head, “not true.” He turned to Raven and Qrow. “Your homeland is uninhabitable because of massive raids against Aesir forces. But if there were no major Aesir gods among the refugees…”

               “They might let them through.” Raven finished.

               “Especially if you and your brother lead them. Regardless of your choices, they still claim your mother their queen. Striking at you would bring grave reprisals. If all goes well, we will come later.”

               “Later?” Summer asked, “you said Asgard will fall in less than a day.”

               Baldur nodded. “Nevertheless, what happens to the city is not your concern. We have failed, you must not.”

               Baldur pulled out a small map. “Fortunately, most of the evacuees had not yet made it to the palace when Fenrir attacked. They were sent to the Central Plaza. Go and evacuate them however you can. I will try to rendezvous with the other Aesir commanders, and try to break out of the city. Fenrir seems to be hunting officers, so you won’t have to worry about fighting him.”

               Raven took the map and nodded.

               “I am giving you command of the evacuees for the foreseeable future. If any officer tries to waylay you, you have every right to dismiss them. “

               “Can we kick their asses if they try to stop us by force.” Qrow asked.

               “Of course,” Baldur said with a grin, yanking out his axes.

               “Now you have no time to lose. Head to the town plaza,” he ordered.

               The quartet nodded and immediately started to sprint.

               Baldur rolled his soldiers. “Now, I wonder why those Grimm didn’t attack.”

               “Because I told them not to you idiot.” A voice said. The voice echoed around the park making it impossible to discern where it was coming from.

               Baldur growled in frustration, “Get out here where I can see you.”

               With an almost casual gait Fenrir appeared, followed by a pack of Ursa. His scraggly form was at odds with the rest of his appearance, dressed in an almost formal red robe, his eyes were like those of a wolf, yellow with narrow irises.

               “How amusing. That girl is so easily fooled, why would you trust her with such a momentous task?” Fenrir asked as he threw Mjolnir into the air and then caught it again. “it seems your legendary strength and wisdom was greatly exaggerated.”

               Baldur stiffened as he tracked the casual toss of Thor’s legendary weapon. Fenrir looked entirely unharmed. He stiffened his resolve as he rolled his shoulders.

               “Her mother would be proud of the woman she has become.”

               “Alone? Unable to see beyond her life as a slave to those who conquered her homeland?”

               “Responsible and understanding of necessity.”

               Fenrir smiled, a feral grin that caused Baldur to shiver.

               “I have no need to deal with you personally,” Fenrir said. With a flick of his hand the Grimm charged. Baldur roared in defiance as he leapt at the horde.

 

* * *

 

Raven rushed towards the city center, the bark of gunfire grew louder and more rapid. Her heart raced as she heard the heavy footfalls behind her. She did not dare turn, knowing she would be comforted by the faces of her friends, but also the gaping maws of countless Grimm which desired only to rend them limb from limb.

               Flashes from the rooftops drew her attention momentarily, the sounds of heavy bodies plowing into each other melded with the snarls of feral rage. The cheers from the rooftops told her that the flashes were from the muzzles of guns, bullets having hit their marks. She turned her eyes back towards the road ahead of her, spying a makeshift barricade in the distance.

               As it grew closer it became clear that the barricade was made from a mixture of rubble and whatever furniture was dragged out of surviving houses. It was the best Raven could have expected considering the circumstances. Valhalla was thought to be unassailable, and the thought of an assault had become unthinkable.

               She gritted her teeth as she pushed herself to go faster. Her legs burned from the effort. Panting behind meant the others were also rushing towards their destination. Her vision narrowed, the whizzing of bullets and the flashes of gunfire faded from notice as she concentrated slowly on the barricade. Before she knew it, the barricade was upon her. She leapt upwards, scrabbling for a handhold to use to haul herself over. She found none, but instead a hand wrapped around her arm, she felt herself be pulled upward. The sense of weightlessness was jarring as she was hauled over the side of the barricade, and tumbled onto the cobblestone ground.

               She was quickly followed by Qrow and Summer, Taiyang clambering over on his own.

               Raven pushed herself up and quickly rose to survey the makeshift stronghold. The Central Plaza was large, as was expected of a city’s main crossroads, but whoever had prepared the area as a defensive holding point had done well, the tallest buildings were manned with snipers and the barricades had been built tall and thick. In one corner lay boxes of ammunition, in another was a makeshift hospital, the cobblestones around it stained red, no doubt from the blood of the dead and dying. 

 Her eyes spied a woman in plate armor and fiery red hair. Raven strode forwards, her friends momentarily forgotten as Raven pushed her way through soldiers rushing off to the different barricades.

               “What do you mean Downtown’s defenses are collapsing? That area was reinforced fifteen minutes ago!” the woman shouted.

               “Apologies ma’am, but another Grimm force appeared! One moment the central park was where most of their forces were, the next the vanished and reappeared in Downtown!”

               “Damn,” She muttered gnawing her lip. “tell any survivors to come here, and bring ammunition! We’re running low.” The messenger nodded, charging off not a moment later.

               “If things are this bad, it’s good we arrived.” Raven said as she stopped just short of the woman.

               “Raven?” The goddess asked. Raven nodded, eliciting a sigh of relief from the goddess.

               “Hera said you’d come. Saw you near the central park.” She gave a small fond smile. “A month pregnant and my little sister insisted on still being a scout.”

               The quizzical look on Raven’s faced gained a laugh from the goddess.

               “Apologies, my name’s Thalia Nikos,” She held her hand out, raven briefly shook it.

               “Raven . We’ve been ordered to get the civilians out of Valhalla.”

               Thalia nodded. “Thought so, A few groups have already gotten out. But we don’t have much time to spare. Certainly not enough to organize another airlift. I am afraid that we can’t hold out much longer.”

               “Low on ammunition?” Raven supplied.

               Thalia shrugged, “I wish that was the end of it. morale is low, and Tyr commanded a host go push the Grimm out of the surrounding areas, setting up for a counter-attack he said.”

               “Tyr always had more courage than sense.”

               Thalia nodded, “They were slaughtered. Did take enough pressure off us so we could complete the barricades. Thank Odin that Loki had the sense to order them the minute Fenrir escaped.”

               “Loki ordered their construction?” Raven asked.

               Thalia nodded. “Without them we’d be dead by now.”

               “Can you get into contact with him? Baldur was searching for Loki.”

               Thalia shook her head, Raven pinched the bridge of her nose.

               “Do you at least know where we can find a working portal?”

               That I can help with. The one in the barracks by the market still work. There are few Grimm sightings in that area so if we can hold here, you should be able to get the civilians out.

               “You should retreat too. This place will be a slaughterhouse.”

               Thalia nodded. “That is my plan. Once the civilians are safe, we’ll pull back to the transporter and set off a flare. It’ll attract attention, but I don’t think that stealth is a viable strategy at this point.” A wry smile on her face.

“Good.” Raven said.

               Thalia waved over a messenger and with a quick order, the man was scampering to gather the civilians hiding in the buildings around them. They came out in a flood, many bearing wounds or carrying young children in their arms.

               Raven’s eyes fell on a child. He mess brown hair matted with blood and sweat, she walked with a limp, one leg seemingly mauled. Her eyes were firm, her arms wrapped around the remains of a stuffed bear. Raven followed the girl with her eyes until the girl vanished into the throng of people.

               Raven turned, waving Summer over to them. Summer eyes lit up as she rushed over.

               “Discuss the logistics of moving these people with Summer, we can’t have anyone falling behind.” She told Thalia.

               Thalia shook summer’s hand.

               “We have much to discuss.” She said.

               Qrow and taiyang observed from the Ammunition stores. Watching as Summer talked with Thalia.

               “think we’ll survive this?” Qrow asked.

               “Of course, we will.” Taiyang said.

               “Well that’s an enthusiastic response.” Qrow said in a dry voice, castinga suspecting glance at his friend.

               “Hey, if we don’t survive I won’t find out whether Raven will go out on another date with me.” Taiyang said in a cheerful tone.

               “You really think she’ll say yes?” Qrow asked, pulling a flask from his pocket. He took a quick swig before handing it over to Taiyang, who followed suit.

               “Why not?”

               Qrow’s face soured, but he didn’t respond.

               “Good luck Tai, I really hope it works out.”

               “I’ve got the brother’s approval?” Taiyang jokingly asked, handing back the flask.

               “Yeah.” Qrow said taking another swig.

               “Well, I hope you and Summer work out too.” Taiyang said. Qrow gave a bitter laugh.

               “Is something wrong?”

               “Personal stuff Tai, it waits till after we’re out of this hellhole.” Qrow stood, took one last drink from his flask and headed over to the evacuees, who were already starting to file out under Summer’s orders.

Taiyang stared at Raven, who now stood by summer carrying a roll of bandages. He scratched his head, grabbed his Warhammer and headed over to his friends.

               “Summer and Taiyang will be the vanguard, since that is where we will most likely face resistance from. Qrow will give support from the air with his semblance, and I’ll be in the rearguard. Understood?” Raven asked looking at her three friends

               Qrow nodded, and in a burst of feathers was already soaring into the sky.

               “Taiyang, Summer are you ready?”

               Both nodded, and sprinted off, dancing through the crowd of evacuees that were clambering over a barricade.

               Raven watched them leave as Thalia approached.

               “Raven, if you double time it, you should be able to get them to the portal in less than fifteen minutes. The portal is less than two blocks away.” She said, handing Raven a radio and a grenade.

               Raven nodded, glancing at the grenade quizzically.

               “Don’t wait up for us, the minute you can get people through do so, and then head through yourself, we’ll be close behind. I’ve told the others to transport themselves to Vanaheim. You should be getting more refuges over the coming days.”

               “You’ll find your own way out?” Raven asked uncomfortably

               “Yes. There are other transporters in the city, and we can reach them”

               “good luck Thalia.” Raven said as she stood, after a quick nod in the commander’s direction she sprinted off after her team and the people she was supposed to guard.

* * *

 

It had taken a total of five minutes for that plan to be derailed. Some idiot had claimed to see Fenrir. The ensuing fear and panic had attracted countless Grimm. Raven had immediately called for reinforcements from Thalia, but there had been no response.  Then, as was inevitable when you had only four guards trying to guide hundreds of people to safety, a grimm had attacked the group, it caused chaos as people fled in every direction, by the time any sort of order was restored, roughly a third of the survivors had been killed.

The next ten minutes had been rushing people to the barracks, struggling to contain what was quickly becoming a disaster. Raven had admittedly sighed in relief as the first group finally made it through the portal. And the rest of the citizens quickly followed.

Another Ursa fell before Raven’s blade. She was gasping for breath at this point, and the others were not doing much better. Taiyang was sluggishly swinging his Warhammer around, smashing Grimm with brutal efficiency, but the audible breathing and lack of an actual stance made it clear he was nearing exhaustion.

Raven searched for Summer and Qrow, they were a few yards away, dealing with a group of Ursa. Qrow was practically slashing wildly at this point, apparently to drained to aim his weapon.

“Raven!” Taiyang shouted out of nowehere

Raven truned towards Taiyang in time to see a black paw seemingly appear before her face. It crashed into her with the force of a truck. She flew off her feet and tumbled to the ground, forcing herself to roll with the blow. Her body felt llike lead, and the warmth the trickled down her faced made her grind her teeth.

She shoved herself to her feet glaring at the offending grimm. It charged wildly, but was quickly felled by a blow from Taiyang’s hammer.

“You okay?” He asked quickly.

“A minor scratch.” Raven said, wiping the red ichor from her face, it was quickly replaced by fresh blood.

Taiyang approached, reaching out with one hand. Raven quickly slapped it away.

 “Don’t fuss, headwounds bleed.”  She said before sprinting towards Summer and Qrow.

 “How many more groups?” Qrow shouted.

“Two!” Summer called out, back leaping away from a charging Grimm.

“When people think they are going to die, they certainly move fast!” Taiyang yelled with a laugh, earning a glare from Summer.

“three hundred people in under ten minutes,” Raven muttered.

“That has to be a record for something,” Qrow replied.

               “Only if we get out alive,” Raven said back, striking down another Grimm.

               ‘Last one’s through!” Summer announced.

               ‘through the portal!” Raven ordered, turning and charging towards the large doorway through which she could see Vanaheim. Surrounding the doorway and its control panel were a ruined barracks, practically burned to the ground; but right before her was pristine grasslands. To Raven, it was disconcerting.

               She stopped short. Turning and practically shoving her friends through the doorway.  As Taiyang’s burly frame practically tumbled through the door, Raven pulled out her grenade. She glanced at the skyline before her. The sky was a crimson red, and the city burned, practically glowing before her. The once grand palace could be seen in the distance; a black blob—undoubtedly Grimm—circled in the sky above it. Where white marble walls and golden spires which dominated the Asgardian, skyline stood was now replaced with scorched rock and crumbled remains. In the city, the towers which once rose past the clouds, testaments to the greatness of the gods of Valhalla, now began to tumble before her, the crack and groan of stone and steel giving way caused her chest to tighten. The image of Valhalla’s final, eternal fall would be etched into her mind for the rest of her life.

 Without hesitation, she ripped the pin out and dropped it in front of the doorway. Vanaheim beckoned to her. She leapt through and felt the rush of wind and heat from the blast as the grenade exploded. She hardly noticed the hiss as the tear in space and time closed behind her.

               She collapsed onto a grassy plain, panting for breath.

               ‘Welcome home sis.” Qrow said as he approached her. A lopsided smile on his face.

               Raven let herself smile.

               “It’s so quiet.” She said.

               Qrow’s laughter filled her ears.

               She closed her eyes. Now, she wanted rest. The celebration could come later.

As could the mourning for the dead.

 

              

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter needed extensive editing, and I was able to persuade a friend to help with that. Fortunately she loves editing and had tons of input which took awhile to get through. Apologies for the delay.
> 
> On a related note, I'm going to start releasing on Fridays starting next week mostly due to me wanting more time to edit the work I do. Hopefully, it will improve the experience for all of you who read this.
> 
> A big thanks to everyone who has given so much of their time to reading this story, I really appreciate the comments, positive and negative, they have all either been major motivators, or have helped me improve my writing.
> 
> All the best!  
> DeamonHunter


	50. Just Another Fight

Emerald eyes opened quickly a gasp a breath following. Her vision cleared quickly and she found herself staring up at an off-white canvas cloth.

"Where am I?" She thought quickly. Her mind raced wondering where in Vytal she was. She pushed herself to rise, her stomach seemed to burn as she moved, she paused, biting down a curse as she ignored the pain and tried to rise further.

"Don't move to quickly, you were injured in the fight." A calm, quiet voice said. A hand slowly rested itself on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down onto the bed. She tried to resist but the hand, while exerting little force would not budge.

"You need rest Pyrrha." The voice said. Pyrrha turned to look at the owner of the voice. Magenta eyes and raven hair looked back.

The memories came flooding into her mind. She had fought Fenrir. She had launched everything she had, every strike, every flame, all the energy she could muster directed at killing a foe that would certainly destroy everything she loved and cared for. Worse yet, she had failed, one single blow was all it had taken for Fenrir to shatter her aura.

Pyrrha slumped back down onto the bedroll. Unsure of exactly what had happened. She knew Fenrir had knocked her unconscious. But beyond that she had no idea what had happened, why he hadn't killed her.

It would have been easy, with that much power, destroying Ruby and the others would have been simple, and even if he didn't desire to, the minute he was outed as a being bent on the destruction of everything, they would all turn on him. He'd be forced to fight back.

Pyrrha's head nestled deeply in the pillow her hair splayed in all directions.

"What happened to Fenrir?" She asked. Ren's face twisted his mouth contorted into a frown as he winced.

"He's fine, we can talk more about it later." Ren said, standing quickly, "Now you should get some rest."

Pyrrha grabbed his arm, her grip was weak enough that he could have probably shrugged it off.

"He's dangerous," Pyrrha warned. "He wants to destroy everything, you can't trust him."

Ren watched her, he stood silent for a few moments, biting his lip. "I will judge that for myself Pyrrha." He said firmly.

"Be careful." Pyrrha urged.

Ren nodded before gently removing her hand from his sleeve. "Get some rest." He ordered before leaving the tent.

Pyrrha sighed. He hadn't believed her. Really that shouldn't have been all that surprising. Ren was far from being an idiot, and the idea that he would trust her word against someone he had been traveling with was a little far-fetched. She could only hope that Ruby and Jaune would be more receptive.

Until then, she would take Ren's advice. She would need her strength to protect herself and her friends from Fenrir.

She closed her eyes, and let her consciousness drift away.

When she awoke. She could see messy black hair. She nearly smiled at the thought of Ren having sat there this whole time, making sure Fenrir didn't take the chance to kill her.

"Ren?"

"Ren's gathering firewood." He responded.

Pyrrha's heart pounded as she rolled out of the bed away from her visitor. She landed on her knee, and grabbed the rim of the bed, intending to flip it and flee.

Fenrir slammed his hand down on the bed.

"No need for that. Must you always be so melodramatic?" He asked. He hardly seemed to exert any effort in holding the bed down.

Pyrrha paused and slowly released her grip on the bed. She glared at Fenrir. His hair had grown quite a bit since she last saw him. It was messy, reaching down to his shoulders, his unshaven facial had grown into something starting to resemble a beard.

"You've been out for days. I didn't think I struck that hard." He said, slowly lifting his hand off the bed. He sat back down in the chair and leaned back.

"Seriously Pyrrha, you try to kill me and I spare your life, If I wanted you dead, wouldn't that spar have been the perfect time?"

Pyrrha glared at Fenrir, she did not trust him. He had some greater game, she just knew it. She closed her eyes and took a breath.

For now, playing along was likely the better option. Attacking him was pointless, their "spar" had made that abundantly clear. She could never defeat him by herself, and clearly, even if he was not at full strength, Fenrir was far more powerful than she could have ever imagined.

The sound of feet slapping against dirt was soon followed by the cover to the tent being ripped open.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?" A panicked Jaune blurted out. He was quickly followed by Ren, Nora and Ruby.

Everything's fine Jaune. Pyrrha just woke up, and wasn't expecting me." Fenrir explained in a casual voice.

Jaune turned to Pyrrha. His eyes scanned her briefly before the stiffness in his shoulders relaxed.

"good," he said, "I was worried there."

"I think we all were." Ren added.

Pyrrha forced a smile onto her face. "Nothing to be concerned about. Just old instincts." She stated, she stood and returned to sitting on the bed.

Ruby glanced back and forth between the two. Her eyes narrowed as one hand balled into a fist. It was if she was going to decide how to begin a difficult conversation.

Fortunately for everyone, Nora had a much more efficient, if socially unconventional idea.

"Why were you two basically trying to kill each other?" She asked, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

The rest of Team RNJR sighed and as one, slumped forward.

"Way to rip the bandage off Nora." Jaune muttered.

"What?" Nora asked, "Ruby was supposed to ask and she's just standing there."

Ruby sputtered denials as Ren glanced at his friend, rolling his eyes with an amused smile. The smile faded as he turned back to Fenrir and Pyrrha.

"Nevertheless, Nora is right. You too need to explain why that spar got so out of hand."

"What did I do?" Fenrir asked, "Pyrrha was trying to kill me!"

"And she wouldn't do it without a reason." Jaune said fiercely.

Pyrrha smiled at the support, it warmed her heart to know Jaune had come so far so quickly. It seemed that he now trusted her.

"So, both of you need to explain what is going on." Ruby added.

Fenrir opened his mouth only to get a finger to the face.

Ruby's silver eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. Pyrrha gazed as she saw the normally bright and bubbly girl practically ooze authority.

"And you need to do it now." She finished. The last word was said with an almost foreboding aura. A threat, best left unspoken, seemed to remain in the air.

Fenrir pursed his lips, but gently nodded.

The steely glare instantly vanished from Ruby's eyes, "Great! Then let's go outside and talk!" She said.

The change in demeanor left Pyrrha speechless. But she quickly rose and followed the others as they left the tent. In her mind, she organized her thoughts. Trying to convince them of Fenrir's sinister nature would likely fail, and indeed, harm more than help. If they rejected Fenrir he might come after them for revenge, and Pyrrha doubted she could fend him off. On the other hand, she needed to defend her actions.

Trying to kill their friend is going to be hard to explain. She thought, especially when he tried to talk me out of it. Could she plead ignorance? She shook her head, that wouldn't do, ignorance wasn't an excuse. As she left the tent, and walked over to what appeared to be the remains of last night's fire, she concluded to take a page out of Nora's book and just wing it. At worst, they would refuse let her travel with them, and there wouldn't be much she could do about that.

She sat between Ruby and Jaune, while across from her Fenrir sat between Nora and Ren. Pyrrha thought about praising the strategy, the probably thought that two hunters could hold back either one of them, but they had clearly underestimated Fenrir's strength. At this point, Pyrrha figured he could kill all of them without even trying.

"So…" Ruby began, shuffling as she sat cross-legged on the ground. "What went on between you two?"

"It wasn't between me and Pyrrha. It is between me and the Gods in general." Fenrir said, garnering some perplexed looks from their friends.

"Before we gods lived in Vytal, we lived in Valhalla and were led by the Aesir, also known as the Great Gods." Pyrrha explained, "but Fenrir, a product of the coalescence of Grimm came to Valhalla and destroyed it. most of the gods were killed in a single night, our capital was destroyed and our parents were forced to flee to Vytal and rebuild."

"You destroyed their world?" Nora asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked at Fenrir as if he was a stranger.

Fenrir shook his head. "It was a different Fenrir. I am sort of like his reincarnation."

Nora's face changed, her expression eased, but she still gnawed at her lip.

"But Fenrir appears when a critical mass of Grimm coalesces in one place. The god shave exterminated countless Grimm to stop the plague of Fenrir from existing in any other world!"

"and yet here he is." Jaune said waving a hand in Fenrir's direction.

"And now we are trying to stop him." Pyrrha replied. "Fenrir exists to destroy all life, he is the will of the Grimm given shape."

Fenrir glared at her. "How do you know that?" He asked in a curious tone.

"My mother was there when Valhalla fell, she saw you commanding the Grimm." She snarled, 'She saw you kill thousands of innocent people."

"I wasn't there!" Fenrir exclaimed.

"So, you claim, but how do I know that's not a lie?"

"How do I know you're not lying?" Fenrir asked. 'How do I know you were even told the truth?"

"Are you calling my parents liars?" Pyrrha asked "Are you saying my Aunt died from something other than a Grimm invasion?" Her voice dangerously calm.

"No! But you shouldn't judge me from some event I had nothing to do with!"

"Everyone cool it!" Ruby yelled. Everyone's attention snapped to Ruby.

"We're going off track." She said calmly.

"What we know is that Pyrrha believes Fenrir wants to destroy Remnant and wants to stop him. Fenrir is arguing he doesn't want to do that."

"Fenrir doesn't have a choice, it's instinct. He's a Grimm." Pyrrha said.

"Fen is not a Grimm!" Nora yelled, Sure he hates Vanilla ice cream, but he likes chocolate, and pancakes and he can talk and he doesn't just attack people!"

"You're used to those kinds of Grimm, there are others." Pyrrha said darkly. Silencing Nora.

"How about we let Fenrir speak?" Ren proposed, "that way he can actually explain himself rather than fend off accusations."

The group was silent.

"Thank you, Ren." Fenrir said politely.

"Yggdrasil is the world tree; all life emanates from it. However, like any living thing it needs sustenance. It gets this from emotions."

"Emotions? What kind of emotions?" Jaune asked.

"Strong ones," Fenrir said, "joy, anger, despair, love. The more intense the emotion the better."

However, it can't just survive from one emotion, like how people can't just live off sugar, it needs a variety of emotions. That's where the Grimm come in."

"How are Grimm created?"

"Technically they are created by Yggdrasil but they enter the different worlds through surrogates." Pyrrha said

"Surrogates?" Jaune wondered.

"People who have been infected by what we Gods call the corruption. It makes them violent and destructive, and allows them to summon Grimm." She explained. Fenrir nodded.

"Right. Surrogates bring the Grimm to the different worlds, and unleash them to bring about negative emotions. What's more likely to scare people than a completely unexpected Grimm attack."

"And when the gods come to rescue them, there are positive emotions." Pyrrha surmised.

Fenrir nodded.

"But why does Fenrir exist?"

"I don't know anything beyond I'm supposedly some sort of reset button. If things go to haywire, too much of one emotion or the other, I come in to rebalance things."

"The war against the Grimm." Pyrrha whispered.

Fenrir shrugged. "I have no idea how I'm supposed to do it. But form what you've said, it seems like the gods destroyed the Grimm faster the Yggdrasil could produce them. Resulting a shortage of negative emotions."

Pyrrha paused. This had to be a lie. It had to be. Everything they had done all the people they had helped, was it literally causing the destruction of Remnant? Did it cause the destruction of Valhalla? Did countless innocent people die because of what their families had done?

Fenrir put his hands on his knees. "That's really all I know."

"that's a lot to take in." Ruby said, leaning backwards. Ren and Nora nodded.

Pyrrha remained silent, her gaze leveled at the ground beneath her.

"I think I need some time." Pyrrha said quietly. Fenrir nodded, glancing at Ren and Nora.

Ren and Nora stood quickly, Fenrir followed.

"Well scout the area and get firewood for tonight." Ren said.

'We'll be awhile." Nora added.

"What they said." Fenrir muttered, following the other two as they walked into the woods.

Pyrrha, Ruby and Jaune sat around the remains of the campfire. All three of the silent, two unsure of what to say, one unsure of what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Another week another chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> DeamonHunter


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. No excuses. Next chapter should come out next week.

Fenrir heard the cracking of sticks beneath him. He didn't care. How dare Pyrrha accuse him of being some monster? Some mindless beast who took pleasure only in the destruction of living things! Sure, when he first awoke he wasn't someone who would have cared about a burning village or something, maybe he unintentionally attacked one. But he wasn't that person anymore!

"Fen slow down, you're making a lot of noise." Nora said breathlessly, half running to keep up with his stride. Fenrir glanced at her incredulously. For Nora to say he was loud had to mean something. This was a girl who used Grenades as part of her standard weapon after all.

Fenrir slowed his pace, more to stop Nora collapsing from exhaustion than because of her pleas.

Fenrir almost immediately regretted it, He needed to move, and he felt like tearing something, anything, in half.

 _Pyrrha, she's being so self-righteous! She's blindly done more damage to Yggdrasil than anything I would ever do, and she doesn't even get it!"_ He thought furiously. His scowl deepened as he balled his fists tightly, turning away from Nora.

The sight of magenta eyes next to him nearly caused him to jump.

'What the Hell Ren?" He snarled, his fury seeping into his voice.

"You need to calm down." Ren replied.

"I need to calm down?" Fenrir asked, "It's Pyrrha who is so blinded by- "

"Pyrrha's opinion doesn't matter right now. Look at how you are reacting." Ren interrupted, pointing down the path they had taken.

Fenrir's relaxed his fists as he saw the damage he had wrecked on the path. Heavy footprints were clear in the dirt, and splinters of wood littered the pathway.

"I didn't hit that many trees."

"Fenrir, the trees you hit exploded. It would have been cool if we hadn't spent the last ten minutes dodging falling trees." Nora said, still catching her breath.

"How long have we been out here?" He asked.

Nora shrugged, "Long enough I carried Ren part of the way." Knowing Nora, carried and dragged were not all that different.

"Probably an hour or so." Ren said, ignoring Nora's comment.

Fenrir sat down, ignoring the splash of dirt and the discomfort of broken sticks beneath him.

"We should talk about this." Ren said, leaning up against a nearby tree. "Ignoring the problem will only aggravate the issue. We need to resolve it."

"How?" Fenrir huffed, "she wants me dead for something I didn't do."

"She wants you dead because she thinks you'll do it again and kill more people as well." Nora pointed out. Setting herself down next to Fenrir.

"What choice do I have?" Fenrir begged, "Yggdrasil created me to solve a problem! How do you solve a problem without getting rid of it?"

"Find a third option." Nora replied.

Fenrir laughed. It was hollow and without a hint of mirth.

"A third option. That's what the Fenrir who destroyed Valhalla tried. Want to know what happened? The locked him up and demanded he serve the Gods without question."

"So, you do remember what happened in Valhalla then?" Nora asked.

Fenrir felt their eyes on him. His mind told him to run. That he was being held back, without them, he could solve the problem of the gods easily enough. It wouldn't be hard, use Pyrrha to get to wherever the gods now resided, and end them once and for all.

Instead Fenrir took a breath.

"No, I remember images, certain things, but after he gets to Valhalla it gets… blurry and then after the arrest there's nothing." He said, his fingers tracing lines in the ground.

Nora nodded. And placed a hand on Fenrir's shoulder. She remained silent, but gave Fenrir's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"That's a dilemma we can solve later." Ren said. "Right now, we have a much more immediate problem."

"Pyrrha." Fenrir groaned.

Ren nodded.

* * *

Back at camp, Pyrrha was busy.

'What the hell are you thinking Pyrrha?" Jaune shouted.

"preparing." Pyrrha said as she rotated her arms.

"He just beat you to a pulp! You really think you can win now? You're injured!" Jaune argued.

"yeah," Ruby added, "Besides, Fenrir is Nora and Ren's friend. They are not just going to stand aside while you try to kill him."

"And what about you two?" Pyrrha asked, turning to look at both.

"Will you get in my way?"

"I saw our Pyrrha die on Beacon's tower." Ruby said quietly. There was an edge in her voice that Pyrrha couldn't quite place but she almost thought it was anger.

"I am not going to watch another friend die like that."

Pyrrha smiled. "good, then- "

Quick as a flash, Ruby's scythe extended. Jaune nearly yelped at the speed at which her weapon appeared.

"If you try to fight Fenrir I will stop you."

Pyrrha almost rolled her eyes at the drama. "Ruby- "

"NO!" Ruby shouted. "You will die. He will kill you and your death will be for nothing! Don't be selfish and think this helps anyone but your own ego."

Ruby had tears in her eyes as she gritted her teeth, two hands on her weapon as she pulled it behind her.

"I won't let you, or anyone else die today. You don't deserve it and neither does he." Ruby said, her voice trembling with emotion.

Pyrrha paused, her mouth wide open. She wasn't quite sure what to do, Fighting Ruby was out of the question, but she couldn't let Fenrir do to Remnant what he did to Valhalla. Somehow, the Aesir had stopped Fenrir last time, but the most powerful gods were all dead. There simply wouldn't be anyone to stop Fenrir if he really went on a rampage.

"Then what do you propose?" Pyrrha asked, her hands on her hips.

"Huh?" Ruby asked, her stance jerking awkwardly at Pyrrha's response.

"Why don't you try to get to know Fenrir? Nora and Ren did that easily enough." Jaune proposed. Stepping in for a gobsmacked Ruby.

"And do you really think that would work? I did just recently try to kill him." Pyrrha pointed out.

"But you thought he was some sort of monster! Not a person! I'm sure he'll give you a chance." Ruby said excitedly as she collapsed and sheathed Crimson Rose.

Pyrrha looked at her skeptically. The Great Wolf, Destroyer of Valhalla, bringer of Ragnarok, sincerely trying to Befriend a God? It was absurd!

But Fenrir had seemed to sincerely try to avoid that fight between the two of them, and clearly not because he was in any real danger. He had also argued he was a reincarnation of the previous Fenrir not the old Fenrir himself. Maybe personalities had changed.

Pyrrha sighed and nodded.

"Fine, but if I see anything off, anything suspicious I will do everything in my power to stop him." She said.

Ruby cheered as Jaune smiled and nodded.

Silence reigned for a few seconds.

"So, when are they getting back?" Pyrrha asked.

Ruby moaned as she slumped to her knees.

* * *

"Guys, you are being naïve! Pyrrha tried to kill me." Fenrir said after hearing what Ren and Nora had proposed.

"Because you didn't explain you're not the Fenrir she is afraid of!" Nora argued. "Just say you want to start over, be completely honest!"

Fenrir groaned and sprawled himself out on the ground.

"So, she can try to kill me when I sleep? You already saw how she spoke to me, and that was after I stopped our fight without killing her!"

"Which is why it'll work. Would some wild Grimm monster spare someone it could just as easily kill?" Nora asked.

Fenrir rolled his eyes.

"No, but she's been told her entire life that I am a monster, that killing me is A-Okay just because the last one ended up blowing up Valhalla. That kind of thing isn't something that goes away overnight!"

"No, it's not." Ren agreed. "But even if she is distrustful, what you need is a chance. She doesn't need to trust you now, she simply needs to give you a chance."

"that's still a lot to ask for." Fenrir pointed out.

"It's Pyrrha," Nora said with a wave of her hand, "She'd give just about anyone a second chance."

"You're Pyrrha might, but we don't know this Pyrrha very well."

"But Jaune and Ruby do, they're good at finding out what the people close to them want. I doubt Pyrrha would still be with them if she was a cruel or vicious person."

"Pyrrha doesn't need to be cruel or vicious to want me dead." Fenrir muttered.

Nora reached out and yanked Fenrir into a standing position, earning a grunt from the Great Wolf.

"That hurt Nora." He said without anger.

"Sorry, but you can't be so down. You have a new friend to make!"

"Nora's right and we should be getting back" Ren said giving Fenrir a supporting smile.

Fenrir shrugged. "Well there's no harm in trying." He said, his wolf years flattened towards his head clearly ready for Nora's excited squeal and fierce hug.

"It'll go great! Just wait and see!"

Fenrir rolled his eyes, an amused smile on his face.

The return to camp was announced by a shout.

"Finally!" Ruby said, speeding up to them in a burst of petals.

"How long does it take to go one a walk? We've been waiting for hours!"

"We were probably gone less than an hour Ruby." Ren said.

Ruby puffed out her cheeks, "yeah but it felt like hours! Pyrrha's been waiting!"

At this Fenrir, Nora and Ren exchanged glances, some hidden message passing through the group. Soon, Fenrir hung his head and sighed.

"I'll go see her." He said quietly.

"Best of luck." Ren said as Fenrir headed towards the campsite. Fenrir raised a hand in thanks before spying Pyrrha by the fire. The flickering flames almost as bright as her hair. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, with a blanket lazily draped over her back. She sat gazing deeply into the fire, as if searching for some secret with the flames. A frown on her face.

"Well better now than never." He muttered as he picked up his pace heading to the fire.

The thudding footfalls must have knocked Pyrrha from a stupor of some sort, as she turned her head almost lamely. Recognition flashed in her eyes as he came closer. Her body tensed, but she did not move, instead tracking his movement with her eyes.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked gesturing to a spot across from her.

She shook her head an open hand offering the spot.

"Feel free" she said. Fenrir nodded his head in thanks before sitting down.

"So," Pyrrha began, "I suppose we have a lot to discuss."

"Yeah. I think we do."

Silence reigned for a few seconds as Fenrir scrambled to find something to say, some way to gently ease them into this discussion.

"I'm not a killer." Pyrrha said abruptly.

Fenrir's ears perked at this and he quickly bit back a smart retort.

"I don't like killing. I do it because it protects people. Innocent people who have done nothing wrong. They don't deserve to get killed by Grimm."

"I don't like it either." Fenrir said, once again tracing lines in the dirt.

"To be honest, I'm not an enthusiastic fan of fighting. I may spar with Nora from time to time, but actually fighting people, it… it just doesn't feel right."

"As if there is something wrong with fighting another person." Pyrrha said.

Fenrir nodded. "I don't want to destroy things. But, I can't help but think that the previous Fenrir must have tried to find a third option and failed. I don't know what happened, maybe it was too far-fetched, or maybe he didn't have a chance."

"Maybe if he had just told someone that would have solved things?" Pyrrha proposed.

Fenrir nodded "yeah, I think a lot of pain could have been avoided."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Pyrrha asked.

"I don't know." He said. "But watch me, watch my actions, and see if you still think I'm lying."

"And if I think you are just playing the long game? Convincing me that you are good so I'll bring you to Vytal?"

"Then I'll have to convince you otherwise." Fenrir said with a grin.

"We'll see…"

Fenrir quirked his head. "What changed? Just a little while ago you wanted to kill me."

"Ruby can be… convincing." Pyrrha said.

Fenrir laughed casting a glance over at the hunters and huntresses they had been traveling with.

"Ren and Nora were convincing too." He admitted.

"So, peace for now?" Pyrrha proposed.

Fenrir nodded. "And hopefully for a lot longer."

* * *

A/N: Well missed my self imposed deadline again. Maybe I'm too worried about it... do specific day deadlines actually matter to you guys, or are you happy just to have a new chapter?

Anyway, this Arc is over, but will kind of blend with the next one. I'm going to take a brief break to finalize things for the next arc. so the next arc will probably start up in two weeks.

Have a great weekend everyone!

All the Best,

DeamonHunter


	52. Chapter 52

The Story So far:

Ruby Rose, Knight Commander of the Guardians of Vytal, has been sent with her friends to find Fenrir, a being which caused the destruction of Valhalla and caused the gods to flee to their new homeland of Vytal. However, upon reaching Remnant, she and her friends are divided, and each must now struggle as best they can to survive. Lie and Valkyrie run into a mysterious woman by the name of Salem, who they find to be the Dark lady of the Grimm on Remnant. Rose and Xiao-Long (who is now going by the nickname Yin) stumble upon Remnants version of Taiyang Xiao-Long and eventually choose to Aid Yang Xiao-Long in her pursuit of her mother. A journey which causes them to reunite With Arc and Belladonna, bit also force them into conflict with Lie and Valkyrie, now aiding Salem in her quest.

Meanwhile Pyrrha and Fenrir meet, and their confrontation ends in an unexpected manner.

In Vytal, movements are also afoot, Winter schnee, director of Vytal's Intelligence agency discovers disturbing news about Ozpin, she reveals this information to Summer Rose, Commander of the Guardians. Summer in turn confronts Ozpin, only to discover that Ozpin's secrets go much deeper than she expected.

* * *

Ragnarok 51: Confessions of a Great God

The wind echoed outside the building, the steal gears behind Ozpin doing little to drown out the sound. He looked at her with a faint smile on his face. The glow of his eyes quickly fading back to their normal greenish hue.

"Satisfied?" He asked. It was hardly phrased a question, more like a playful jest. The lilt in his voice sending a sense that he was terribly amused at the turn of events.

Summer stared at the man sitting across from her, her arms were crossed, her eyes narrow as a scowl grew on her face.

What Ozpin had just told her was absurd. She had seen Fenrir, talked to him, but the scope of his power, and his will to destroy was, according to Ozpin, still beyond her grasp. The beast had burned down all of Valhalla, left a city full of corpses and ash in his wake, and still was not satisfied.

"So, we are facing the Same Fenrir as the one that destroyed Valhalla?" Summer asked.

Ozpin nodded. "I think that is a safe assumption. Why he appeared now, rather than simply continuing to wreak havoc is beyond me."

"And you are claiming to be Thor?"

"You did claim to see me wielding Mjlinor. The only person who can do that is Thor."

"Or any other Great God."

Ozpin nodded. Crossing his fingers as he leaned forward.

"The crux of the issue is Do you believe me?"

Summer leveled her eyes at him. She remained silent for some time, chewing on the knowledge that she had been told.

"Why would Yggdrasil create Grimm?" She queried, refusing to answer his question.

"Grimm are a byproduct of the creation of the Aesir and the Vanir. Most creatures are formed with light and darkness. We however are pure light; the darkness has to go somewhere."

He stood turning and staring at the gears rotating behind him. "You have to understand, we still know very little about the Grimm. We know who creates them, and why, but beyond that is a void filled with questions, many of which we cannot even begin to fathom the answers."

"I have spent centuries trying pick up where Loki left off. Pouring over his notes on the Grimm and on Fenrir. He seems to be convinced of two things, Fenrir wanted the Gods dead, and his existence is deeply entwined with the existence of Yggdrasil."

"how so?"

Ozpin turned to look at summer the faintest shape of a grin on his face. Summer felt a chill run down her spine at the look.

"Loki, before his disappearance, seemed to think the Fenrir drew dark energy from Yggdrasil, much like we Gods draw light energy. Like us, the closer he is to Yggdrasil the more powerful he becomes."

"So why did he appear on Remnant? A place completely disconnected from the rest of the Multiverse?"

Ozpin shrugged. "Earlier I mentioned that Fenrir appears when there is a critical mass of Grimm, that is an assumption we made based on your encounter with him. It is likely that there is a Grimm Queen on Remnant."

Summer's eyes widened. She pushed down the desire to leap out of her chair and demand Ozpin bring her daughters back. Such an action would not help.

"And you seem to think that Remnant is a safe place to send my daughters and their friends." Her voice was barely a hiss, her jaw clenched and unclenched as she ground her teeth.

"Fenrir should be at his weakest on Remnant, and eight gods should be enough to deal with him if it comes to that. Furthermore, unless they actively go looking for trouble, the odds of them running into a hostile Grimm queen are low. They don't even know of their existence. Grimm Queens are highly classified, and we were still studying them.

"Until Blake broke out of prison."

Ozpin nodded, "Blake Belladonna was invaluable to our study of the Grimm. How one could resemble their host so easily is still beyond us."

Summer paused gnawing her lip. Doubts rushed into her mind. She tried to shove them away but they kept coming back. What if she hadn't freed Blake, but something resembling Blake. Could she reveal to the Grimm Queen what was on Vytal? Would they invade? Had she inadvertently started a disaster which would cause a repeat of the Fall of Valhalla? It she became so wrapped dup in her thoughts she hardly felt Ozpin's hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked gently.

"I'm fine." She said. "Simply quite a bit to think about."

He nodded. "Get some rest, and we can discuss things more tomorrow. As of now, Stopping Fenrir while important, is not so urgent that it can't wait a day."

Summer nodded and turned to leave.

"And Summer," he called, "Remember their mission is only reconnaissance I never intended for them to try to kill Fenrir. The survival of the Gods is my highest priority."

Summer didn't reply, instead she closed the door behind her, the click of the door shutting the only sound she heard.

Summer gave a sigh.

"Bothered Rose?" A gruff voice asked.

Summer looked up to see a man leaning casually against the wall across from the door.

"Zeus." She said, "I really don't have time for this now."

"I thought you always had time for your subordinates. And yet you don't have time for me? No wonder Ozpin doesn't trust you."

Summer's eyes narrowed, "no I don't." She said walking away.

"So, he didn't tell you he doesn't expect Ruby to survive." He called out.

Summer stopped mid step and turned on her heel.

"You have gotten good at taunting." She said quietly.

Zeus peeled himself of the wall and walked up to her. "Do you really think your daughter has any chance at all? So frail that she will crack under the slightest pressure. You were wise not to let her go on solo missions, it was probably your one wise decision."

"Aren't you worried about Pyrrha?"

"My daughter can handle herself. With any luck, facing Fenrir will get her head out of the clouds and realize that Blonde oaf is still the same weakling he always was."

Summer nearly smiled. "Still sore over the fact that Jaune is better than you? Or maybe you don't; want her to marry for love because you're afraid. Hera leaving you high and dry still a sore spot?"

Summer felt the vice grip around her neck, even as the stony gaze tried to bore into her she couldn't help but feel amused.

"You're good at taunting, being threatening? You lack skill." She said, spying another goddess approaching from behind Zeus.

Zeus's grip relaxed as a hand caressed his cheek from behind.

"I agree, you lack the ability to seem threatening." A sing song voice said, the hand on his cheek started to glow.

"Ozpin wants to talk with you. Leave us."

With a snarl, Zeus released summer and turned. Marching into Ozpin's office.

"Not even a parting shot?" Summer asked.

"Zeus isn't quite that stupid." The woman said.

"Lady fall, it is rare to see you here."

Cinder laughed, it was gentle and controlled, but still sounded something like the jingling of bells.

"Winter asked me to come, she was worried about how your chat with Ozpin was going."

"It went well actually, if a little unexpectedly."

Cinder nodded, "we should discuss it with winter." She said, beginning to walk back down the hall and towards Winter's offices.

Summer followed.

"He claims to be Thor." She said quickly.

Cinder quirked an eyebrow. "that's impossible. Thor was confirmed dead."

"He claimed it was a misidentification, and that Loki had taken the blow."

"He does know how absurd that sounds. They don't look a thing alike."

Summer nodded.

"I don't think he was actually trying to deceive me." She added, eliciting a sound of surprise from Cinder.

"You think he was telling the truth?" She asked.

Summer shook her head. "No, he was almost certainly lying." The question of course, was how much of what Ozpin had told her was a lie? Had Fenrir reappeared or was that just part of a plan? Some claim to send ruby away, or send her somewhere where she could be used as a hostage to force Summer's compliance.

"Well, Winter will want to hear of this." Cinder mused, taking a sharp left and pushing through another doorway, letting the bright light of Vytal's sun into the building as they exited.

The duo walked quickly through the cobblestone paths before them. They weaved through throngs of people, ignoring the cries of the few merchants selling wares. It reminded summer somewhat of Asgard, but the spirit was different. The city was throbbing with life, but she never felt it was quite the same. As if something was off.

Shaking her head, she noticed Cinder had gained speed. Summer quickened her pace to catch up, heading towards a building made of steel and glass. It was squat and curved like a fin. The building was unlabeled, but every person in Vytal knew what it was.

As they grew closer the crowds that had once surrounded them thinned considerably. Summer almost smirked.

"It is quiet. Ironwood trained her well." Cinder said approvingly.

Summer chuckled. "I thought it was the countless dangerous criminals they kept locked up under the building."

"That probably has something to do with it, plus the fact that one has just escaped not two weeks ago." Cinder said, a small smile on her lips.

Summer glanced away. "Shame nobody caught her before she escaped."

"Yes, it certainly was embarrassing for the guardians and the intelligence division." Cinder agreed.

As they approached, to glass doors at the front of the building hissed and slid open.

"I always liked how the entrance is actually an elevator." Cinder said stepping in and pressing several buttons on the keypad.

"It does give a no-nonsense impression." Summer admitted, "Still, it feels cold."

Cinder shrugged. "Steel usually does."

The glass doors closed with a hiss frosting over quickly before the elevator started to rise. Summer and Cinder rode in silence, patiently waiting for the elevator to stop. When it did, the glass doors slid open revealing a large open space. Tiled floors gave way to a beige rug upon which sat a few chairs and a desk.

"utilitarian." Cinder said loudly as she stepped forward. Winter, leaning over the desk, hastily scribbling like a madwoman head snapped up as if on a spring. Her eyes wildly paced back and forth between the two goddesses before her.

"Winter, we have news." Summer said, following behind cinder.

Winter relaxed slowly, dropping her pen on the desk and leaning back in her chair.

"I see. Well so do I."

She swept her arm, gesturing to the open chairs.

"Please sit."

Summer and Cinder did so. Cinder leaned back into her chair, closing her eyes.

"Well?" Winter prompted.

"You must learn to relax Winter. Some things require patience."

"I have a rogue god running Vytal. And three agents have stopped reporting in. I don't have time for patience."

"Who?" Summer asked.

"Classified." Winter said with a dismissive wave, "But they were following Zeus. Their corpses haven't shown up yet, so officially they're missing."

"I see." Cinder said quietly.

"So, if you could tell me if Ozpin let anything slip- "

"Ozpin would not let anything slip, he's too careful." Cinder said with a raised finger.

"He claims to be Thor." Summer added.

Impossible, Winter said, leafing through some papers on her desk. "Thor was killed during the fall of Valhalla."

"He claims it was Loki who was killed." Summer replied.

"Does he have any evidence?"

Summer gave Winter a look, Winter nodded.

"of course, he doesn't." Winter said, running her hand through her frazzled hair.

"He also said that the Grimm are a byproduct of the creation of the gods, light and darkness and all that."

At this winter paused. "that is one theory." She said her hand tapping her chin.

"But it is one of many." Cinder added. "There's one where they think that the gods and Grimm create a kind of symbiotic relationship, like the Midgard concept of Yin and Yang."

'or where the Grimm are created when we sin. None of them have actual evidence. The only ones who could know would be the Grimm queens." Winter turned to Summer with a scowl, 'and someone let the only Grimm queen we've successfully captured go free."

"So, it was you." Cinder said with an approving nod. "Good initiative."

"Not if it means that we now have to fight a Grimm queen and Fenrir."

"Blake was still Blake."

"We're getting off topic." Winter said throwing her hands in the air.

"Even if Ozpin is Thor, even if Fenrir is attacking Remnant. None of this explains why he is keeping him being one of the Great Gods a secret. Let alone how he disguised himself for so long. Valhalla long ago. And Ozpin has led us almost since the beginning."

"He seems to think the great gods would not be welcome." Summer said.

"He wouldn't be wrong. Odin ordered the capture of Fenrir, and Thor's inability to defeat him is widely considered the primary reason for Valhalla's fall."

"I don't think Ozpin is Thor." Summer said.

"I agree, but in that is the case, then who is he?" Winter asked.

Cinder's eyes snapped open. "Can you bring up the list of gods that were unaccounted for before the Fall. Specifically, the Great gods who were unaccounted for before?"

Winter nodded, pulling out a scroll and quickly tapping her query into a search engine.

"Loki and Hel's locations were unknown when Fenrir began his attack. Thor, Odin, Freya and Tyr were confirmed as being in the Palace and were killed by Fenrir, Balder led the remaining Great gods in the final defense of Asgard and are presumed dead."

"SO realistically, Ozpin could be Loki, Hel, Balder or any of the gods with Balder." Summer said, slumping forward.

"Yes." Winter said. "But bluntly, the only gods that are on that list that have both the power and charisma to lead are Loki and Balder. Hel was renowned for being shy and avoiding the spotlight."

"So, either Loki or Balder."

Winter nodded.

"well, now that we have an idea of who he is, what are we going to do about him?" Cinder asked.

"He may have lied about who he is, but he hasn't done anything actively harmful to Vytal yet." Winter said.

Summer nodded, "I say we watch and wait. We don't know what tricks he has up his sleeve."

"I agree. acting now would not only be pointless, but could be actively harmful to other military operations." Winter said

"good things come to those who wait I suppose." Cinder muttered. "We can't be lazy though. If he starts to act suspicious…"

"We act." Summer finished, a glower on her face. "We also need to confirm that the guardians on Remnant are safe as well."

"I'll consider that, but for the time being, I'd assume they are."

"An intelligence agent making assumptions?" Cinder asked, stifling a laugh.

Winter ignored her. "Summer, if you would keep track of Ozpin, it would be appreciated. The intelligence agency can't move as freely in Vytal as we can elsewhere. And it seems I have a leak."

"If Zeus found your agents I'd say you do have a leak." Cinder pointed out.

Summer stood. I'll get some extra guards to follow Ozpin, he'll know why they are there, so hiding them is pointless."

"but if he refuses them it looks suspicious." Cinder said brushing hair behind her ear, "Clever."

"Give my best to Mrs. Fall." Summer said.

Cinder smiled. "And tell me when you get information on Jaune, she asks about her brother constantly."

Summer nearly laughed. The arcs were far too much a family of over protective siblings for their own good.

"Will do." She promised as she left.

Her stomach churned, and she wondered whether the feeling was dread or fear.

Not that it much mattered. If she could fight, if she could see, nobody, no god, no Grimm, would hurt those she loved.

And if Ozpin tried to harm Ruby Yang or their friends, Great God or no, he would find that Fenrir was a far more merciful foe than she.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Thanks for your patience! Grad school applications are taking their toll, blah blah blah. Enough of that. Real life doesn't belong in fanfiction.
> 
> Anyway, The new arc starts now, and it will center on Vytal, and it's been a LONG time since we last seriously visited Vytal, hopefully the blurb up top helped jog people's memory.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and remember, Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> All the Best!
> 
> DeamonHunter


	53. The Chase Begins

Warning: I'm not a professional psychologist, I know nothing of drinking one's sorrows away, survivor's guilt or alcoholism. Skip the first section (before the line break) if you want to avoid such topics.

* * *

Summer sat in her room, glass of wine on a small glass coffee-table. She stared at it thinking of the past. Her eyes watered as she thought back to how it was before so much had happened, it was simpler back then, back when Taiyang was still around, laughter had once filled their house Ruby and Yang squealing in delight as Taiyang played with them. Stopping only once the scent of baked goods wafted out of the kitchen.

She smiled as she picked up the glass of red wine, downing it quickly before placing the glass back on the table with a clink. She rested her head on her hand, and her thoughts turned darker.

Back then, Raven had come by on occasion, more frequently on formal visits than not, but she still payed some attention to Yang. Raven had always claimed she had too much to do to raise a child, and Summer had believed it for some time, it would have been typical Raven, Duty before any sense of happiness. She wouldn't have let her relationship with Taiyang blossom after she and Qrow broke up if she had thought differently.

She stood walking over to the cabinet near her kitchenette, and pulled out another bottle of wine. She went back to her sofa, uncorking the bottle and pouring herself another glass.

When she realized Raven still had feelings for Taiyang, she had pushed for Raven to stay longer when she came, hoping It would bring Raven closer to Yang, and maybe with a little luck rebuild the team and family that had collapsed following the Fall of Valhalla.

downing the glass and pouring another she laughed half-heartedly. What an idiot she had been. She had always tried to fix things between her friends, and instead she made them worse. She hardly sensed he awkwardness between her teammates, instead believing them when they said they were okay with what she was trying to do.

That night, the night before Taiyang died, she had come back later than expected, Adam Taurus had escaped prison the day before and the trail had gone cold. She shouldn't have tried to put up a chipper demeanor at the big family dinner that night. Taiyang had seen through it of course, and so had Raven. Qrow probably did too.

after the kids had been tucked in, Raven had pushed for her to say what was wrong. Summer knew Raven was only trying to help. but she lashed out anyway, the anger and feelings of failure fusing into a visceral anger that she couldn't contain. She had stormed out of the house, leaving a stunned group of friends behind.

She had headed back to work burying herself in it as if to make up for her failure. Such an idiotic move. She had ignored a message from Taiyang, who, as always, wanted to make peace between the group.

They were supposed to meet at a bar, if she showed up, all the better if she didn't they'd see her tomorrow, though they'd all be hungover.

She knew in her head how stupid it was to blame herself for not going. She hadn't made Qrow compete with Taiyang in a drinking contest. She hadn't made Raven leave early, bitter about what had happened. She hadn't made Qrow drink so much he'd be too drunk to fight the next day.

Nevertheless, she thought bitterly as she wrapped her hand around the bottle of alcohol and drank deeply, the memory haunted her, just another failure, though that time it got someone killed.

As her mind and vision dulled she felt warm tears drip down her cheeks.  _and now it's happening all over again._

Rage bubbled within her as her vision cleared, her aura blazed. With a shout she threw the bottle of wine against the wall, the shattering sound only reminding her of what she had felt in her heart that day. She screamed, she sobbed, she wished the memories would fade.

Knowing they wouldn't, she curled up into a ball. in this apartment, for she had sold that house they had lived in after Ruby had left to live with her team, she wept. At least here, no one would know of how weak she really was.

* * *

Bright light woke Summer from her stupor. her head throbbed, the jackhammer in her skull a stark reminder of her moment of weakness. She shoved herself of the floor, shielding her eyes as bright light shone through the windows that ran floor to ceiling on the eastern side of her small apartment.

She stumbled to the kitchen, lighting out a curse as she accidentally kicked an empty wine bottle. She reached the sink and quickly turned on the faucet waiting only a moment before splashing the water on her face. The brisk cold woke her up even as it caused her headache to worsen. She glanced over at the clock on the wall, noting that it was still early morning she sighed in relief. She wouldn't be expected to be presentable for another hour.

Shutting off the faucet she began to shed her clothes as she headed to the bathroom. She ignored the trail of armor and clothing she left in her wake, instead walking into the shower and turning on the water. She nearly yelped at the biting cold, but relaxed as the water began to warm. She leaned against the tiled wall. Rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"fuck." she muttered, cursing her poor judgement. using alcohol to drown out the memories had been a problem for Qrow too. He tried to Drown out Valhalla, his parents and everything else that went wrong, but could always trust a friend would haul him home at night.

Everyone like that is dead or gone. Summer muttered before she splashed hot water on to her face and let it fall upon her rubbing sore muscles and messaging her temples as she bathed herself.

Half an hour later, she was ready, a glass of water on the coffee table, the wine bottles from the past night shoved into an empty trash bag. she tied her boots, smiling as the aspirin she had taken began to ease the throb of her headache.

Unfortunately, the headache came back instantly as her scroll began to ring. She muttered a few choices swears she had learned from Qrow as she reached for the accursed device.

"Summer Rose." she answered

"It's Winter. Ozpin is already on the move"

Summer swore again, she hadn't had time to prepare and so had yet to assign guards to Ozpin, giving the god just enough time to evade their watch.

"Where?" She asked, snatching her weapon as she rushed to leave her apartment, not even trying to lock it as she slammed the door behind her. She rushed down the hallway at a full sprint, thankful that for once, the hallway was empty.

"He's heading to his office, he was flagged when he left the armory."

"Why did he go to the armory?" she asked as she bounded down a stairwell

"I don't know, no weapons were removed."

"So, he must have placed something in the armory." she said shoving the stairwell door open and rushing out into the sunlight. That was bad, If he had placed something in the armory, he was passing an item or message off to someone else. And since there wasn't going to be a record – or at least an accurate one – of what exactly he had looked at, so they had no way of finding it without tearing the entire armory apart.

"I'll send Cinder to investigate," Winter said, interrupting her thoughts, "but you have to follow him! he's heading to Valhalla."

Winter did not need to tell her twice. Summer rushed towards the vast Ivory tower that housed Ozpin's offices. At her speed it took her less than a minute to reach the glass doors. She rushed through the door, ignoring the looks of security guards and office workers as she shoved her way through security, ignoring the blaring of alarms and yelps of the various workers she pushed out of her way as she rushed past.

A few guards reached for their radios, likely assuming the only reason the Commander of the Guardians would ignore security procedures she herself put in place was for a practical emergency. She would have praised their critical thinking and berated them for not assuming the worst. But now was neither the time nor place, she had more important work to do.

She rushed past the elevator and head for the stairs, her legs burned as she charged up the stairwell, she gritted her teeth and continued onwards, steady breaths eased the pain in her chest as her lungs burned for more oxygen than she could conceivably provide, her calves grew numb as she pushed them beyond the point where they felt pain. it likely took her a few minutes to rush up the thirty flights of stairs between Ozpin's office and the ground floor but it felt like much less. She pushed onwards as she got to the landing, sprinting down the tiled hallway towards Ozpins office, she braced her shoulder as she rammed the door, surprised by how easily it gave way. The force behind her caused her to lose her balance falling forward, she tucked her shoulder, turning her fall into a roll as she fell. When her feet again connected with the ground she sprang into crouch, turning her head to search for the man she was chasing.

The room, sparse as always, was quiet.

Summer uttered a curse as she stood up, drawing her scroll out of her pocket she called Winter.

"He's gone." she said through gritted teeth, not even waiting for Winter to talk.

"I know, there was a spatial disruption in his office, but it vanished maybe a minute ago."

"He tore open a portal to another world? Is there any god who can do that?" Summer asked.

"Three that we know of. Balder, Loki and Hel."

"Load of help that is"

"It is better than nothing. now all we can do is wait for him to get back."

"No, we can still seize the advantage. We know where he is, and he thinks he's safe."

"You are not heading to Valhalla." winter said, her tone low.

"Yes I am. Get the portal ready or I'll do it myself."

"You know this is a trap, right?" She asked.

"Probably." Summer replied, marching out of the room. "just get the portal ready. This is our chance to find out what he is planning."

She did not wait for an answer instead ending the call as she looked out the office's glass wall. It was a beautiful view, overlooking the entirety of the city. Summer instead looked down at the gathering crowd. She bit her lip as she saw the landed airships, Guardians leaping out, fully equipped for lethal combat. Her actions had clearly caused concern among many of her soldiers and those assigned with protecting the Lord-General of Vytal.

She headed towards the entrance to the office, the gears of her mind already turning. She disliked lying to her troops, it damaged their faith in her and could cause a mutiny, but right now, the stakes were too high to worry about that. Escaping with her head still on her shoulders was her primary objective. After that, she could scramble to figure out how to reach the portal to Valhalla.

As she entered the elevator her mind reeled as she thought of the situation she was in. Her mind kept drifting back to the Armory. If Ozpin could tear through dimensions, wouldn't he be able to teleport anywhere in Vytal? Why would he physically enter the armory? He could have just teleported in, slipped the item into a container and teleported back out.

She growled, as she hit the button for the ground floor. Today had given her more questions than answers. Sure, they had narrowed down who Ozpin could be, but that didn't matter if he had accomplices, rounding up everyone who had worked for Balder, Hel and Thor would ravage the security forces and cripple their intelligence gathering capabilities. Not to mention Ozpin hadn't verifiably done anything legally wrong yet.

Summer closed her eyes and breathed slowly, opening them only when the elevator bell dinged, and the doors slid open. Before her stood two squads of her own soldiers.

" _Well, here goes nothing."_  She thought as she stepped out.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, "the Lord-general is missing, possibly kidnapped! Get to your stations!"

She waited a moment, relief flooding her as those before her stared at her dumbly.

"Move!" She ordered.

She smiled as the squads split apart, one rushing towards the stairs as the other rushed towards the exit.

Summer strode out of the building, barely able to contain herself as she resisted sprinting for the Intelligence building to meet with Winter.

"I hope the rest of this goes that smoothly." She muttered as she turned a corner and broke into a sprint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for posting this a week late I've been pretty busy. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter and once again, I am not a psychologist, I apologize if I have misrepresented the subject matter.


	54. Chapter 54

Ragnarok 55

Summer sprinted the entire way to the Intelligence Bureau offices. Some looked her way as she sped away from the tower, casting odd glances as they tried to square the head of the Guardians running from a crisis, even as guardian airships flew overhead.

She ignored them, weaving between crowds gazing upwards at Vytal's response to their leader's disappearance. Her breathing quickened as she pushed herself to ever greater speeds. Not for the first time, she wished she has Ruby's semblance. That speed would have solved many of the problems she now faced. And she would have been able to rush to the some of Vytal's portals rather than bringing winter along to erase her portal usage logs.

As the Bureau's building came into view Summer was unsurprised to see winter standing before it. Her arms were crossed, the scowl on her face deepened as Summer stopped just short.

"I still say this is a trap." Winter said brusquely, turning on a heel and walking back into the building.

Summer followed, her heart pounding as her mind whirled. What was Ozpin up to? What motive did he have for all of this?

"Cinder is looking through the Armory as we speak. Nothing will be overlooked."

"Ozpin is cautious, he won't have left it somewhere obvious." Summer cautioned.

Winter nodded, "We also don't know who is supposed to pick up whatever Ozpin dropped off. But the prime suspect is fairly obvious."

"Zeus has a close relationship with him."

"That he does, and not without reason. As we all know, his daughter is the Fall Maiden. That alone gives Zeus serious political clout. And a completely valid reason to meet with Ozpin off the record." She said, entering the elevator that served as the Bureau's entrance.

"But you can have him followed." Summer said. sliding in beside her.

"Three dead agents say that is a futile gesture."

"He killed another?"

"Yes, and not neatly." Winter said, grimacing.

The elevator doors slid shut, Winter glanced down at the floor buttons, tapping several.

"We need to stop at all of those floors?"

Winter shook her head. "Hardly, but having a button that says top secret is sure to raise a few eyebrows."

The elevator hissed as it descended.

"The bureau doesn't have an underground floor plan." Summer pointed out, her brow furrowed.

"No, but Director Ironwood saw Ozpin's centralization of power and thought he needed to build a counterweight of some sort. And what better place to do that than one that doesn't officially exist?"

"A counterweight?" Summer asked as the elevator stuttered to a halt.

The doors slid open without a sound.

She frowned as she saw lights flicker on.

"It looks like a prison."

"It originally was, back when the Intelligence Bureau had to deal with Adam's insurgency."

Winter strode forward, the clacking of heels echoing down the hall. Summer followed her back tense as she cast her gaze left and right.

The hall was unadorned, a steel ceiling support by walls and floors of smooth cement. She shivered, wondering exactly which insurgents had done something terrible enough to be imprisoned here.

"Now it is a research and development facility, as well as our covert operations headquarters. Here we do the real dirty work. The things that no one needs to know about."

Summer paused. "You do things without any clearance?" She asked. She wasn't naïve, some things had to be off the record, but the idea that Winter was basically running around doing who knows what without any oversight was a tad bit concerning. Not every director would have her sense of justice and integrity.

"A vaunted tradition dating back to the early years of Ironwood's directorship." She said dryly.

Summer let out a sigh.

"Don't blame yourself for not knowing, Ozpin is aware we do things without his express authorization, but not exactly what."

"Right." Summer said her voice quiet and reserved.

Winter continued to walk, taking a quick turn.

"Of course, all of that means that we have to have a way to transport ourselves across worlds without public awareness of our actions." Winter stopped before a door, and waved her hand over a plate inset into the doorway. The steel door slid open with a hiss of rushing air.

She waved Summer in, and closed the door behind them after she entered.

Summer's gaze fell onto a circular ring the diameter perhaps the same length as a doorway's height., a small console that was attached on one side held a glass screen. She walked up to it, gazing at golden lettering on the outside of the ring.

"This is from Valhalla." She whispered.

"We retrieved this dimensional gateway a few years after the Fall. The Grimm occupation of Asgard had lessened by then. We destroyed the other ones, bringing this one back to further develop on the technology independently."

"To what purpose?" Summer asked. Her fingers tracing the edge of the gateway."

Winter pulled a small ball out of her pocket.

"To this end." She said handing the ball to summer. "Currently they are only single-use and not as accurate as the portals. There are also still several risks with using them."

She strode over to the console and started to tap commands on the screen.

"However, since you seem to insist on charging into a trap, I thought a portable escape path would be useful."

She pressed a final button. And the portal whirred to life. Summer could see an image of Valhalla. It made her stomach churn.

"The portal is ready. When you want to return, remove the pin from the Portable Gateway's casing to activate it. It is linked to the bureau's coordinates. Make sure to throw it a few feet away, sometimes the casing doesn't break apart correctly, causing the container to burst."

"So, it's a grenade that opens dimensions?" Summer asked.

Winter huffed, failing to smother a smirk. "If you want to put it so crassly, yes, it is."

Summer nodded. "Fancy grenade." She said.

Summer turned to the Portal.

"It's been awhile." She muttered looking at the ruined buildings before her.

"Just come back safely." Winter remarked.

Summer nodded, before stepping through the portal. 

* * *

 

For Summer these portals were always the same. The wave of nausea that washed over her was her only indication she had stepped through a portal. She groaned as her feet slammed onto solid ground. Another wave of nausea made her pause. The churning of her stomach not improving the feeling at all. She almost smirked, as always, she could sympathize with Jaune's motion sickness.

Fortunately, the feeling passed, too slowly in Summer's opinion, but still quickly nonetheless. She stood stretching her arms as she looked around her, trying to recall what this area would have looked like when Asgard was still whole rather than a broken pile of rubble and ruins.

Summer stood in what was likely once a plaza of some sort. A fountain broken and overgrown with weeds consumed the center and many of the nearby buildings seemed to have seen the worst of the fires that has spread with the fighting.

Summer stepped forward only to almost slip. She muttered a curse as she looked at the ground ahead of her. Bullet casings and unspent rounds littered the ground.

Summer picked one up, it was standard rifle round.

"Was this from the fight?" Summer asked. A sneaking suspicion growing in her head.

She turned around, only to see the remains of barricades.

"Is this the central plaza?" She murmured.

She had no time to take a closer look. She spun as she heard a crackling sound.

The spot before her started to twist and crackle with energy, a sure sign that someone was trying to link this spot with another.

Summer cursed as she searched for something to hide behind. Spying the remains of one of the barricades she rushed towards it. leaping over the top and scrambling behind it just as a high-pitched whine began to emanate from the new portal's location. The sound of rushing air told her that the portal was open.

At the risk of being spotted she peaked out from behind the barricade. Watching intently for whoever stepped out. She felt with deep certainty that whoever appeared from that portal was the one Ozpin was working with. And even if they were not, Ozpin was here for a reason, perhaps this unknown person could bring clarity to this situation.

The rusted blade was the first thing Summer perceived.

Zeus Nikos stepped out, a hooded fur cloak draped over his large frame. His footsteps were almost silent as he walked forward. He paused, raising his sword in front of him, before spinning in the direction of the barricade.

Summer slipped behind her hiding spot once again, her hand slipping to the hilt of her weapon as she waited.

Faint footsteps became louder. She could hear her heart beat in lockstep with the footsteps. She turned her head ever so slightly, struggling to see between what was left of the barricade. She could see the fur cloak out of a space between two of the boards. Zeus stopped a few yards away from the barricade.

Summer's heart leapt to her chest even as she resisted every urge to strike out at Zeus. Kill him while she still had some modicum of surprise left. Instead she resisted, hoping that Zeus had not yet found her.

"Zeus," A familiar voice said. "Is there anything of interest in that barricade?" It sounded light, almost cheerful. Summer knew immediately who it was. He had used that same voice with her the day before.

"Ozpin." Came the gruff reply the sound of leather against metal indicating Zeus had sheathed his weapon.

"Do you, have it?"

"With me? No. I'm not a fool."

"Good. It won't take Summer Rose long to figure out where I went."

"I still say you should have dealt with her before. Her daughter is practically your hostage."

Summer peaked between the gaps in the wood again, Ozpin's face in view. He looked unamused at the proposal.

"I do not think antagonizing the leader of the most powerful military force in the universe is something to be recommended."

"You assume they would follow her."

"They would. She has removed the Guardians from politics entirely. We both know that they are loyal to her."

"She also has allies in the Intelligence Bureau, Winter sent some of her spies after me."

"Let me guess, you killed them." Ozpin replied.

"Of course."

Ozpin frowned.

"We are trying to save the gods, that is much easier to do with them still alive."

"What is one or two more?"

"Three, Zeus. You killed three Gods who were only doing as they were ordered."

"We all must make sacrifices."

"True, we fight for the greater good, but do not let that make you think that your actions are not without consequences. Winter will look at you with greater scrutiny now."

"She is beneath my concern." Zeus replied

Even from her hiding spot, Summer could imagine what happened next, even though she could not see it.

The gurgling sound of someone gasping for air started slowly at first but quickly became more desperate. The sound of boots scrabbling against cobblestones became louder.

"She is of concern to me." Ozpin said slowly, enunciating each word. The thud of a body hitting stone and great gasps told summer that Ozpin had released the hapless god.

"And that Zeus, means she is of concern to you. You agreed to work with me for the greater good, but has become increasingly clear from your belligerent attitude that my hand has been too light of late.

He leaned in close to Zeus. Summer strained to hear the words he said, but couldn't make them out. But Zeus stiffened and his breathing quietened, whatever Ozpin had said, Zeus had taken it seriously.

Ozpin rose, and his face once again vanished from Summer's view.

"From now on, you will not aggravate Summer Rose, you will not mock her daughter, and you will stop killing Gods when there are less lethal options open to you. Ignore me again and I will find someone more malleable to do your job. Are we clear?"

Summer shivered, Ozpin's voice had been almost like a bored monotone throughout the conversation. Zeus' arrogance had not caused anger, it had not caused fury, Ozpin treated it almost as if Zeus was a young child having a temper tantrum.

'But for now…" Ozpin said, walking closer to the barricade as he did so. Summer broke into a cold sweat, she shifted her weight slightly,

"let's deal with the proverbial fly on the wall."

Summer bolted. Hardly noticing the Barricade burst behind her. She rushed down the street zig-zagging as she did so. She yanked out the Portable Gateway grenade. Without looking, her fingers felt the pin of the grenade. She immediately pulled the pin out. With a brief prayer to Yggdrasil she launched the grenade as far as she could ahead of her. Breathing a sigh of relief as it seemed to bring a portal out of nowhere, she leaped through, ignoring the rush of nausea.

Zeus and Ozpin watched as Summer vanished.

"She got away." Zeus snarled, glaring at the hand Ozpin had outstretched in front of him.

"Of course, it will not be a problem. Killing her would be a waste. She will not arrive where she expects anyhow." Ozpin said, his face giving away nothing.

"What do you mean?" Zeus asked.

"None of your concern. Just bring the item to the root of our trivial problem."

"It is hardly trivial." Zeus snapped, garnering a sideways glare from Ozpin.

"You know what you are supposed to do, yes?" Ozpin asked.

"I do not like being kept in the dark Ozpin."

Ozpin remained silent, a single eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Yes, I do." Zeus said, deflating slightly.

Ozpin adjusted his glasses, pushing them upwards from the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

"Good. Wait a few days before you begin, we need things to boil over." Ozpin said pulling out a small orb with a pin in it. He removed the pin and through the orb to the far side of the plaza.

"Why not take them out now?" Zeus asked.

"For the exact same reason, they aren't trying to kill us." Ozpin said glancing at the portal now appearing in the plaza.

"They've done nothing wrong… yet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in a bit of a rush, so apologies for errors. Another chapter will come out tomorrow. Hopefully this chapter was interesting, Who is Ozpin? What are his motivations? And when will Summer engage in a no-holds-barred beatdown of Zeus?  
> These questions will be answered in future chapters!


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for breaking my promise about the chapter. Here is chapter 56. Chapter 57 will come out soon!

Raven watched from a distant tree as Yin and the others started to break down and pack their camp. the tents came down with only a few minor tangles, a mild curse left Arc's mouth as he poured water on what was left of their campfire, only for a particularly large log to come crashing down upon his foot.

She felt the urge to roll her eyes at the god now hopping on one foot. Unfortunately, in the form of a raven, such a gesture was futile. Instead she stretched her wings and cawed a mild insult. Her attention wandered as she saw Ruby rush over to help, lifting the log off Arc's foot.

The forest was quiet. The silence interspersed only with the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves. Raven knew for a fact that there were no Grimm in the area, Yin and Belladonna had cleared them all out earlier, and Raven had kept a watch on any area she thought they might have spawned in. Still, Raven was wary, she had a nagging sensation in the back of her mind that they were being followed. However, no matter how hard she searched, she could not find any evidence supporting that idea.

Which meant that either her instincts were wrong, or that whoever had decided to follow them was very skilled. He thoughts immediately drifted to Lie and Valkyrie, she knew that Lie's ability allowed him to track someone, but he needed something of theirs to use. And it couldn't be a scrap of clothing or something similar, it must be something that was imbued with their soul, an item that they felt was part of their identity or had immeasurable value to the person.

She wondered if Lie had something of such value to one of the group members. The most likely suspect was Arc, but he knew about Lie's semblance as well. Clumsy he could be, but Jaune Arc was not an idiot. If he had lost something of value, he would have informed them of the danger or, even at his most foolish, would have never joined the others on their journey to Mistral.

Raven turned west, the way they had come. her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the horizon. There was something coming, something coming for them. She knew not what, whether it be a new Grimm or Lie and Valkyrie themselves. Odin forbid Fenrir himself (or herself, if the being who rescued their foes in Mountain Glenn was any indicator), was pursuing them. That would be a fight Raven doubted she could win without skilled reinforcements.

 _"Something that this makeshift team is unable to provide."_ She thought ruefully, looking back at the group of Guardians, beginning to march eastward. Skilled as they were, against Fenrir, they would not be enough.

She leapt off the branch spreading her wings as she took to the air. The wind flowing both above and below her allowed her to focus on the here and now, washing out the what ifs that were the future. Her eyes focused on a mane of blonde hair, her daughter, fully grown walked with trusted allies and friends. Raven felt her heart grow heavy, as memories of her own team came floated lazily through her mind. She shook her head, adjusting her wings so the movement didn't drive her off course. Her mind wandered however, wondering how her brother and Summer were faring. Her eyes remained focused on Yin, on her daughter. Still, even as their journey continued, the feeling that they were being followed did not fade in the slightest.

* * *

 

Magenta eyes opened slowly. Lie loosened his grip on the fractured blade in his hand. The weapon had dug into his flesh, leaving a thin line the quickly reddened as blood flowed freely from the wound.

"Are we getting closer." Valkyrie asked as she collapsed Magnhild in her lap.

"Yes. But she's moving quickly. It will take us a few days to catch up to her."

"And then we must observe for a few days, and then strike, right?" Valkyrie said, rolling her eyes as she dusted herself off.

Lie shook his head, "We should strike hard and fast. It's reckless to imagine that we could effectively hide from her."

"Ren, it isn't like this is our Raven," Valkyrie said with a half laugh, "She isn't going to be that hard to capture."

"Do you remember when we faced her brother?"

"Do you? We charged in there and ended up playing a glorified game of tag rather than an actual fight!"

"You did knock a critical support beam down."

"By accident!" Valkyrie said. "I'm just saying we should take your advice, stay calm and actually make sure we have all the variables under control."

Lie raised an eyebrow. Calm and Careful did not describe Valkyrie. Something was off.

"Nora, is something wrong?" He asked, deciding being direct was the best course for now.

Valkyrie scratched her head, sighing as she holstered Magnhild.

"Sort of, I get why we're doing this. Jaune and Pyrrha would get it. but still..." She drifted off, letting her implied meaning hang.

"I don't like it either Nora, but somethings are necessary evils."

"But when do we cross from the necessary to the evil part?" She asked.

Lie opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. It was a question he had asked himself, and he was no closer to an answer. His eyes trailed the ground, desperate for an excuse to look away from Valkyrie's penetrating gaze.

"They've fought to keep this world safe for their entire lives, you think they will just give that up?" Lie eventually asked.

"I don't know. Probably not, but Ruby would say we need to at least try. We won't know until we do, right?"

It did make some sense to at least try, especially since there was the possibility they were chasing the  _wrong_  Raven Branwen. If they were in fact chasing the goddess rather than the Remnant Raven, they might be able to convince her to join their side.

Of course, neither Raven had much motive to be welcoming to Lie and Valkyrie. The assault at Mountain Glenn probably erased any goodwill they had built up over the years.

Lie shrugged. "Alright Nora, we can try." He conceded.

Valkyrie cheered as she wrapped her arms around her friend. He smiled and rolled his eyes as he returned the hug.

"You won't regret it Ren!"

" _Famous last words"_  Lie thought. His mind already drifting to a fight he found inevitable.

* * *

 

"Ow!" Arc yelped as a log fell on his foot. Ruby rushed over lifting the log as Arc began to hop, clutching his foot.

Yin smiled as she watched her sister try to get Arc to stay still, watching even as She and Belladonna packed their tent.

"It's good to see Ruby acting more normally." Belladonna said.

Yin turned and smiled, ignoring the chill that ran down her eyes at the black and red eyes of her lover. Belladonna's hair was still black, but had recently become streaked with silver at the roots. Yin had yet to mention it, not because it didn't concern her, but because it was wrapped in close to a dozen other issues that still needed to be dealt with. They had fallen into old habits as if nothing had happened.

The thought that Belladonna had issues with her caused Yin to stiffen. She imagined those red eyes, full of anger boring into her. Belladonna would never harm her. Yin knew that.

But would she? It was Yin who had realized what was happening with Belladonna. It was she who had told Ruby, and it was her who had escorted Belladonna to the room that was intended to be her eternal prison.

Belladonna had said there everything between them was settled, that the past was in the past. She said she had understood her and Ruby's actions. That there was nothing to forgive. Yin would have liked to believe that, would have liked to believe that she had done her duty and that there shouldn't be any hard feelings, but she didn't feel that way.

A gentle squeeze on the shoulder snapped her back to the present.

"Yang? Are you okay?" Belladonna asked, a concerned frown on her face.

A smile appeared on Yin's face in moments. "yeah! Right as reign! No problems here!"

The deadpan look on Belladonna's face made it clear that Yin's ability to lie had not improved since they last met. Instead of telling the truth however, Yin decided to go with a different tactic.

'Do you recall I mentioned the woman who was with Ren and Nora. The white-haired lady?"

Belladonna nodded, "Yes. What about her?"

"Well, I got a pretty good look at her. Her mannerisms were all prim a proper, and she wielded a rapier, it reminded me of someone."

"It reminded you of Weiss." Belladonna guessed. Yin nodded, leaning close

"I can't get it out of my head, she looked like Weiss might have if she was older, and their fighting styles seemed really similar." She said in a hushed tone, glancing behind her to make sure Ruby was out of earshot.

Belladonna scanned her lover's face.

"Yin, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I think Weiss might have been possessed like you. And the result is what we fought. What if she's not Fenrir?"

Belladonna's eyes widened. Less in surprise at the possibility and more at the repercussions if that was the truth.

"You have to be joking Yang. Weiss would never attack us. You've seen what her underlings did. Cinder brought a city to its knees and almost ignited a war. Do you think Weiss would, even at her worst, ever condone anything like that?"

"No!" Yang hissed, "but I think if her mind was twisted by the corruption, anything is possible!"

"So, you think the corruption did that to her?" Belladonna asked, her voice steady.

"I'm afraid it did. I'm afraid we're fighting Weiss. And I'm afraid of what that means for Ruby."

Belladonna stared into her eyes, evidently searching for something.

"Do you think the same thing will happen to me?" Belladonna asked. Ramming their tent into her rucksack with more force than was necessary.

"No. I don't think it will."

'Why?" She asked, pausing from her work.

Yin smiled. "Because you have us. And I won't let it happen."

Belladonna rolled her eyes, "That is the cheesiest line you've said all day."

Yin laughed. "Is that a dreadful thing?"

A faint smile on Belladonna's lips was all the answer Yin needed.

"We need to finish packing." Belladonna said, hoisting her rucksack over her shoulder. She stood turning toward Ruby and Arc. The were still near the campfire, Jaune had removed his boot, and rubbed his foot gently. Ruby stood over him, shaking her head.

"Are you two ready?" Belladonna called out.

"Damn! Sorry Blake. Be done in a sec!" Arc shouted back, pulling his boot back on before heading towards his half-collapsed tent.

"Don't take too long you two!" Yin called out, closing her own sack as she did so.

Arc let out a sarcastic laugh. As he limped off to grab his own bag.

"Is he limping?" Belladonna asked, eyes furrowed.

"Yeah, I guess that log was heavier than we thought."

"I guess so…" Belladonna said, walking to the remains of her campfire and dropping her rucksack beside it.

"I'm going to help Ruby pack. Can you keep an eye on my things?" She asked.

"No prob!" Yin replied. Setting her own things down by Belladonna's baggage, she sat on a damp log and began to examine her gauntlets, making sure they were fully functioning.

Belladonna glanced at her girlfriend for a few seconds before turning and quickly rushing of toward Ruby.

Ruby was on her knees cursing as she struggled to shove her sleeping bag back into its shell.

"Stupid sleeping sack. Advanced tech my foot." She hissed as she yanked the sleeping bag out and tried again.

"Need any help?" Belladonna offered.

Ruby looked up, she shook her head.

"No, just need to wrap this up. Jaune said he'd pack the tents."

Belladonna nodded. Sitting down beside Ruby. She hummed a little, watching as her leader accidently rammed her fist through the bottom of the bag's shell.

"Damn!" Ruby hissed glaring daggers at the fist-sized hole she had made.

"Why not put it down for a minute?" Belladonna proposed.

With a deep breath, Ruby nodded, dropping the bag and shell on her lap.

"How are you doing?" Belladonna asked, "it must be awkward having us all back together."

"It's nice actually, things are feeling a little more normal." Ruby replied, her face brightening at the topic.

"How so?"

"It's a little like how it used to be. Camping under the stars, dealing with Grimm. If Weiss was here it'd be like it was in training."

"Except now we're trying to save multiple worlds from obliteration."

Ruby chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so. Not doing a fantastic job, though are we?"

Belladonna shrugged, "We're making headway."

"It doesn't feel like it. I feel like we're flailing, we don't even know where Fenrir is."

"Would you actually be able to do anything if you did know where Fenrir was?"

"Probably not, but it would allow us to get an idea of where to go next. We've been on the back foot the whole time."

"We lack the information, have a little patience." Belladonna said.

Silence reigned. Belladonna bit her lip, trying to coordinate the words she wanted to say. It wasn't a demanding thing to do, and she had done much worse countless times before. "If I go berserk, if I become like that woman back out Mountain Glenn, kill me". It was easy to say in her mind, but now, her throat tightened, her mouth wouldn't form the words.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

Belladonna nodded, lifting the sleeping bag and shell out of Ruby's lap.

"I'm fine, just still trying to get used to the new normal." She said, gently rolling the sleeping bag and pushing it into the shell.

"If you need to talk to someone I'm here, and I know Yang and Jaune are too." Ruby said confidently.

Blake smiled, it was a little forced, but convincing enough.

"I know Ruby." She said in a gentle voice, handing the filled shell back to Ruby.

She stood. "I better get back to Yang, who knows what she's gotten up to."

Ruby smiled. "Don't let her get too wild." She cautioned.

Belladonna nodded.

"And Blake,"

"Yes?"

"It's good to have you back. Like, really good. I'm happy you're with us."

Belladonna looked at her diminutive leader, the kind girl mixed with the fragmented shell of the hardened woman she forced herself to become. The layers finally seemed to be breaking off, the strict rules and regulations giving way to someone who was coming to terms with what had happened. Ruby was growing up, maturing. Belladonna almost found it amusing it was happening during the deadliest mission they had ever undertaken. But somehow, she imagined Weiss would have pointed out that, for Team RWBY, a life-threatening mission is exactly when such a thing was most likely to happen.

"So am I Ruby." She said honestly. "So am I."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll be more Summer next time for those missing her, I have the chapter written, just need to edit, edit and edit again, So hopefully it will be out this weekend. 
> 
> In other news it's national novel writing month! Good luck to those who have decided to take up the challenge.
> 
> My unofficial submission will be attempting to write 50,000 words of this story! With any luck, by the end of the month, the last outlines will be wrapped up for the story, and I'll be well on my way to having it written. Not edited mind you, I'm still learning that bit, but the bulk of everything will hopefully be written as my excuse for not writing an actual novel. Something I would attempt if I didn't want to tell this story with a burning passion. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated, I might not respond to every comment, but I do read them all. They really make my day.
> 
> Until next time! 
> 
> DeamonHunter


	56. Where in the Universe is Summer Rose

Summer stumbled out of the Portal, snow crunching under he feet as she once again felt solid ground beneath her. The wave of nausea that came with leaping through the portal was so strong that Summer gagged, she felt her stomach churn. Dropping to her knees she heaved, bile dribbling onto the snowy ground below her.

She gasped for air, her lungs demanding more every second as her breath steamed in the frigid cold that surrounded her.

_In, one, two, three. Hold, one, two, three. Out, one, two, three._ She thought as she struggled to control her breathing. Collapsing on the ground right now would bring concerned citizens, and undoubtedly unwelcome questions in regard to what she was doing, falling out of a random, unauthorized portal.

As her heart steadied, she slowly rose to her feet, scanning her surroundings.

The icy landscape was odd, spires of ice and snow burst from the ground around her, while the whistling wind buffeted her with hail and snow. There was no foliage to speak of, and anything that resembled a tree seemed to be made of ice. She shielded her eyes with one hand as she tried to identify where in Vytal she was. She searched for a landmark on the horizon, maybe Ozpin's tower, or one of the mountain ranges just north of the city.

"Where the hell did all this snow come from?" She muttered.

It was summer in Vytal, and all the snow would have been concentrated north of the city. She looked up at the sky, blinking rapidly as snow struck her poorly protected eyes. It was dark, The sky a brownish-blue, the sun setting over the horizon. She guessed it was perhaps an hour or two until nightfall. Best make haste to find some sort of shelter. She could worry about fire when she found some trees.

She began to walk forwards, hoping that she would stumble across some sort of marker, whether it be a landmark or a signpost. Anything that could tell her where she was would be welcome.

She shivered as the cold seeped through her clothes, even as she bundled her white cloak around her. The buffeting winds weren't helping, and her cloak, nice and comforting in the relatively warm climate of the city center, did nothing here.

Instead, she decided it best to try to use one of the icy spires for some shelter while she orientated herself to her environment. She spied one, not fifty feet from her that stood in bright contrast to the dark gloom. She strode over, reaching the spire in under a minute.

The spire practically thrummed with light. A dark blue glow that seemed to emanate from it. Summer stood, transfixed as she reached out to touch its surface.

The spire was certainly made of ice, cool to the touch, but it felt more like glass. The structure didn't melt at all from the heat of her hands, and it seemed to almost tremble beneath her touch.

"What is this?" She asked in a hushed voice. She looked up, wondering how far the spire reached into the sky. Her eyes fell upon a darkened shape within the spire. She could only just make out a silhouette.

"A body?" She asked as she moved, ignoring the buffeting wind that struck as she did so.

The body inside was stuck in a position that looked almost like they had been pushed. But in truth, it was more as if they had been struck down. bisected from shoulder to hip,if the line of light dividing the silhouette was any indicator.

If nothing else, the fact that a likely corpse was trapped inside a icicle was disturbing. Was it a semblance? Some final attack? But why freeze a corpse? The person was clearly dead. A trophy then? It made more sense, but someone would have noticed these spires eventually, in eye shot there had to be at least seven, and she suspected there were many more.

The only thing she was certain of is that she had to leave and do so quickly.

She pulled her scroll out. Her eyes fell when she saw there was no signal. That was odd, the scrolls worked by using Yggdrasil branches as a relay. They should work virtually anywhere in the universe.

But here her scroll was, unable to catch a signal of any sort. She frowned.

"Well, I'm clearly not on Vytal."

She had half a mind to blame winter for this, but decided against it. Winter had warned her that the portal grenade, as she had come to call it, was a finicky device, unreliable at the best of times. At least she hadn't been transported into a wall or something.

'Although this isn't really much better." She muttered. "Now what worlds have no reception, and are icy?"

None came to mind. There were worlds which were practically bottomless oceans, such as the Great Wells that Yggdrasil's roots drank from, which would explain the lack of scroll reception, and there was Jotunheim, a world covered in ice, but neither of those made sense. Jotunheim got scroll reception, and she was standing on snow, not swimming. So she wasn't beneath Yggdrasil's roots.

"This has to be Remnant." She said snapping her fingers. The images didn't necessarily match the icy wasteland she was on. Nor did she have any idea how to confirm her idea but it was possible Remnant was similar to Midgard, and that the extreme north and south were intensely cold, getting warmer as they neared the world's equator.

She wasn't sure whether to be happy or concerned. Ruby was here, Yang was here. If she could find a way to reach them, she could help them. They could kill Fenrir, and get back to Vytal. She could guarantee that they would all be safe. Ruby wouldn't have to risk losing another friend and neither would Yang.

But at the same time, that meant letting Ozpin run free, and would Vytal even be there for them to return to? He would almost certainly have a plan to sideline or even imprison Cinder and Winter. She had to warn them, and that meant time was of the essence.

Her daughters or her friends?

She closed her eyes, already knowing her choice. Guilt ripped at her but also reminders of how much Ruby and Yang had grown. That growth had been stunted as of late, but there was no doubt in her mind that Ruby and Yang could fulfill their mission with the help of their friends.

Summer didn't know if she found her faith in her daughters disturbing, or heartening. She knew what they would tell her to do. She knew what she would tell them to do if their positions were reversed.

"I wish I had another Grenade" She muttered scratching her head. "Now how to get back to Vytal…"

She crossed her arms, scrunching her mouth as she ran through a mental list of what she had on her. It wasn't much, standard dust rounds and her weapon as well as her scroll; certainly nothing that could tear a portal in time and space. Or somewhat more mundanely, send a message through the same

She sighed, deciding she couldn't do anything right now. Perhaps if she rendezvouses with Ruby and her friends they would be able to find a way to contact Vytal. It wasn't ideal by any measure, and she doubted Ruby would appreciate her showing up only to ask for help, but hopefully the fact that she wasn't there because she didn't have faith in Ruby would comfort the girl.

Now, how to reach civilization? She wondered. She smiled, deciding to take the most direct and expedient option. She cupped her hands and placed them over her mouth, taking a deep breath as she did so.

"Hello! Anyone there?"

Her voice echoed, spreading far and wide. She waited the wind and snow billowing around her for what seemed to be an eternity.

Her only answer was the whistling of wind between the vast spires of ice.

Her shoulders slumped, even as her eyes hardened.

"Damn. Wish that would have worked." She said.

Then she heard the crunching of snow.

Her heart raced even as she reached for her weapon, one hand pulling her weapon free even as the other fell into place around the chain, her wrist already beginning the flicking motion, leading the weight at the end of her kusarigama to spin almost lazily.

She spun on her heel turning to face whatever was approaching her.

Her eyes widened, the spinning chain slowing to a halt.

"Oh shit."

They weren't quite distinct yet, but she could see them, roughly a hundred yards off. Her eyes narrowed as she holstered her weapon and pulled out her scroll, tapping the screen with her thumb, she opened the camera system and brought the scroll to her face. She used two fingers to close in on the beings before her.

Wooden was how she would describe them. Not how they physically looked, but more how they moved. They shuffled forward in a distinctly inhuman manner. Theirs arms remained stiff even as their legs guided them forwards. Some stood upright, others hunched over. Their skin, or what wasn't frostbitten at least, was an ashen gray, Clothes and armor seemed to hang from them. Some carried weapons limply, others seemed to try to be grasping at something.

It took her a moment to realize they were likely trying to grasp at her, even though she was so far out of the reach of what remained of their hands. She waited only a moment before she pocketed her scroll and turned to scan the surrounding area for a hiding place.

They hadn't appeared until she shouted, which meant that they likely were attracted to sound, so running in snow was not an option. They were slow, but for all she knew they didn't need rest, she did. As slowly as they were moving, exhaustion and cold would allow them to overtake her eventually.

Her eyes fell on the spire. It was unlikely, but from what she could see, it was her best gamble. She walked over to the spire, the glowing structure thrumming, as if inviting her to climb it.

She rubbed her hands together. And looked up at the shadow in the spire.

"Sorry, but I need to live." She said, bending her knees.

"That won;t work Madam Rose." A voice said from above her, Summer jumped back, hand on her weapon as she looked up at the top of the spire.

Upon the spire was woman. She sat easily, relaxed even. Her legs were crossed, one bouncing back and forth lazily tapping on the ice. Her hair was a blend of blond and red, which turned to black at the tips. One side of her face was heavily tattooed, the bones of her face mapped out in ink. She wore a hood in the shape of an Ursa Mask, furs draped over her shoulders.

"What?" Summer asked dumbly.

"The Ashen use scent to track their prey." She said, gliding down from the spire.

"Those things?' Summer asked, pointing at the approaching figures.

The woman nodded.

"They can smell Life. This world is dead. The living are not tolerated here."

"On Remnant?" Summer asked, panic reaching into her voice. Did these things pursue Ruby and Yang? Were they even alive?

The woman's laugh could only barely be described as such, it was more like the clacking of bones, high pitched but jarring.

"You are not on Remnant. You are still within the nine realms of Yggdrasil."

"Where?" Summer demanded. Silently thanking Yggdrasil that Her daughters did not have to face such things.

Summer ground her teeth at the smile the woman wore. It was as if this woman thought this was all a game. Wasn't she alive too? Wasn't this just as dangerous for her?

"Shouldn't it be obvious? You are not in Jotunheim for there are no giants, and yet there is a land of ice. Did Thor not teach you about the time before the Gods?"

Of course, he did, and the answer dawned on Summer quickly. A land of frost that was not connected to the branches of Yggdrasil. It surprised her she hadn't thought of it before. But then again, what living person would ever imagine themselves where she now stood?

The woman nodded, as if reading Summer's mind.

"Welcome to Niflheim, Madam Rose. Welcome to the Land of the Dead."


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dead tired, so no fun author's note or title this time. Chapter count is also off for some reason, so hopefully subscribers are getting update emails and everyone is able to see new chapters, if anyone has any ideas how to fix this problem feel free to leave a comment about it.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!

The next hours, or perhaps minutes, Summer wasn’t certain, passed by in a blur.

The woman had reached out a hand, and made a beckoning motion. The smile on her face made alluring and almost sinister by amber eyes that emanated a golden glow in evening light.

“Hel?” Summer asked, her head cocked as she tried to piece together exactly what was going on.

“Now is not the time for explanations.” Hel said nodding towards the Ashen which still approached, “we will have time soon. Now, Madam Rose, please follow me.”

The Aesir Goddess turned and briskly walked away from the oncoming horde. She walked easily, as if walking through heavy snow during a storm was no more a hindrance than a sidewalk. Her Ursa cloak buffeted around her but she made no move to restrain it, allowing the winds to pull it every which way, without a care in the world. 

Summer shrugged and quickly followed placing on foot in front of the other, carefully making sure to follow in Hel’s footprints. 

As she stepped into one of Hel’s footprints, the wind seemed to die down, she glanced around her.

“There is sadly no time for wonderment Madam, We must hurry, follow in my footsteps and all will be well.”

Summer did so, deciding it best to obey, she breathed deeply as she marched forward. She scrabbled at the edges of her memory to recall what she could of Hel. She had been young among the Aesir, rumor had it that Odin had given Hel governance over Nieflheim as a way to separate Hel from her father, much to Loki’s chagrin. 

That didn’t stop Taiyang moaning over the degree of correspondence between the two, always handwritten, and always sent by a black dog.

Summer smirked at the memory of the black dog, Taiyang had loved that beast, and had even given it a nickname. Over time, it had become their groups de facto mascot, a choice that had given Loki no end of amusement.

Thinking of the hound Hel probably wouldn’t have been too pleased about a bunch of gods playing with her familiar…

Summer made a note to try to avoid mentioning it. Angering Hel in her own domain was not something she even wanted to think about. Hel was an Aesir, one of the Great Gods, and the less said about the degree of their power the better.

“And we are here.” Hel said, stopping. Summer paused, her eyes narrowing in on a small wooden hut in the distance. Smoke rose from its squat chimney, the wooden walls glowing form the light that burst from the windows.

“We should get inside, traveling such distances will surely be tiring on one such as you.”

Almost as if on command, Summer felt her legs turn to lead. Her calves ached, and her feet felt as though they had been walking for hours. Her calves screamed as she turned back toward the direction they had come from. Summer goggled at what she saw. Or more precisely what she didn’t see.

“Where are the spires?” she thought. They had reached so high they were like towers, visible from all directions for miles. Now, not a single one was visible. She looked back at Hel, and wondered just how that had happened. Hell gave her a small smile, before beckoning to her with one hand, gesturing to the cabin with the other.

Summer nodded, gritting her teeth as she commanded one foot to move towards the structure, and once that foot rested on solid ground once again, she commanded the other to do the same.

Hel stood to one side, one hand holding the other in front of her stomach, she watched passively as Summer slogged forward. There was no sign of impatience or annoyance at the delay Summer was causing.

Hel smiled sadly, shaking her head as Summer glanced at her.

“I wish I could help, but I cannot.”

“Why not?” Summer asked, placing her left in front of her right. Nearly sighing in relief as she realized she was halfway to the house.

“I cannot affect the living, at least not until their time has come.”

“Must be inconvenient.” Summer grunted, plodding forward as she said so.

Hel nodded, “it is indeed. A curse Odin cast on me, to make certain I knew where I belonged.”

“Here?”

“Away from the living.”

Hel walked over to the door and opened it. The crackle of the hearth was inviting, and Summer could swear she could smell a stew of some sort. Her stomach gurgled at the scent. Summer had half a mind to punch it, that would silence the gurgling complaints of her stomach quite nicely.

“Fortunately, you stomach will not have much to complain about soon.” Hel said, “I was expecting a visitor, and so I have put on food sent from my father, there is plenty of stew and bread for supper.”

Summer nodded gratefully as she finally reached the doorway, Hel raised a hand, ushering Summer into the hut with a small bow.

“Please take a seat madam, I will serve food shortly.” 

Summer scanned the room. Wooden floorboards creaked as she stepped in. To one side was a bed, white sheets covered with a bearskin lay on top of a small chest. In the center of the room was a round table, with four chairs. Place settings for two already prepared. Behind the table was a small fireplace, flames crackled as they heated the iron stew pot dangling from a hook above the flames. 

“Looks cozy.”

“A recommendation from a mutual friend.” Hel replied, I used to live in a grand palace of ice, but it was pointed out that while imposing, it would never feel like home.”

“And this does?”

“On occasion.”

“It looks familiar.” Summer muttered, not quite able to place the location.

“It is probably much less messy, I’ve made a few changes, made some order from the chaos.” Hel said, bringing over two steaming tankards. 

“And I swapped the lukewarm tea and coffee out for warmed mead.” Hel said handing one to Summer. She placed a basket of bread at the center of the table and then sat across from Summer.

Summer leaned back, taking a sip from her tankard. The mead was strong, much stronger than the wind Summer had taken to drinking. But it was warm and oddly comforting. 

“This is nice.” She thought, listening to the crackling of the fire as the warm drink slid down her throat, easing the icy rawness left by the snow storm outside as it did so.

But now was not the time for rest.

“Now, Ask your questions.” Hel offered.

Summer placed her drink down, spreading her hands on the table as she looked at Hel. She took a deep breath, trying to arrange her thoughts. It would not do just to vomit out all her questions at once. Best to begin at the most basic of questions.

“Why bring me here? Why not send a message?”

“What I wanted to talk about was something too complicated for a simple letter, I thought a personal touch would be better.” She said, taking a sip of mead, Hel looked at her tankard with an appraising eye. She took another sip, swallowing it quickly, before leaning back with a pleased smile.

“Then why not divert me when I was heading through to Valhalla?”

“And have you miss a critical juncture?” Hel asked, taking a sip from her tankard as she raised a curious eyebrow. 

Summer waited, but was met with silence. There would be no answer, nor explanation forthcoming.

“Then I ask again, why did you bring me here?”

Hel set her tankard aside, she sat one hand on the table one finger tapping gently as her other hand’s knuckles brushed her lips. “Straight to the point I see.” She said, her eyes practically boring a hole into the table. She leaned back lifting her tankard. And taking a heavy gulp before placing it back on the table. The tapping continued for a few seconds, as Hel glanced at Summer, then back at the table. 

Eventually she let out a great sigh, her eyes once again meeting Summer’s. 

“Yggdrasil is dying Madam Rose.” Hel said, before wrapping a hand around her tankard and taking another sip of mead.

Summer was speechless. “Yggdrasil the World Tree dying? That was a crisis! Why wasn’t Ozpin trying to do anything? Why hadn’t he informed the gods?”

“Think, Madam Rose. You know the answer.”

Summer paused, breathing slowly as her mind spun. Why would Ozpin not act? Why wouldn’t he inform the gods? Together they could save Yggdrasil. SO why didn’t he say something? 

As Summer’s heartbeat slowed she started to try to imagine the gods reaction. Her face turned to a reluctant frown, the very thoughts discomforting. Some would react calmly, seeing the gravity of the threat and calmly trying to find a solution. But as had been shown on Valhalla years ago, they would not be the majority.

The majority would panic, there would almost certainly be chaos as it was revealed that they were facing the end of life as they knew it, their auras and semblances rendered unusable over time. They would wither and slowly become frail. Like a flower unable to gather sunlight, their life span would shrink, perhaps to no longer than that of a resident of Midgard. Even if Ozpin found a solution, he wouldn’t be able to act upon his discovery, if he wasn’t in control of Vytal.

“There would be chaos and that would attract the Grimm.” She whispered.

Hel smiled slightly, “Good. But there is more to this. There is no solution to the crisis we face, Yggdrasil is dying, the rot set in long ago and is too deep to be stopped. Now it is only a matter of time.”

“How long do we have?” Summer asked, her body tense.

“One thousand years probably.”

Summer leaned back, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“But then Fenrir was born again. And that changed everything.”

“Fenrir wants to destroy Yggdrasil now.”

“Perhaps, but a greater fear is that he will destroy the one place which will not be affected by Yggdrasil’s death.”

“Remnant.”

“Yes. It is not connected to Yggdrasil’s branches, and in time, perhaps Ozpin could find a way to settle a small portion of it for the gods, but that takes time, something he no longer has. Instead he will have to take remnant.”

“The gods would never allow that! We exist to protect. An invasion of Remnant would go against all we stand for!”

“Unless they were pushed, unless there was no other choice.”

“We still wouldn’t.” Summer said with certainty. “We have principles, and if we don’t follow them, what are we?”

“Simply flawed like all beings perhaps. Remember, not all are as good as you are Madam Rose. Many will see forcing themselves onto Remnant to be easy. And like mortals, gods are prone to taking the easy way out. They will throw themselves at Ozpin’s feet and beg to be saved, damn all morals and principles.”

“But the guardians-”

“Will follow Ozpin. They are honorable and may control the Portals out of Vytal, but without their commander they are but sheep.”

Summer remained silent. Hel seemed so confident, and so relaxed. Why wasn’t she even the slightest bit concerned? Nieflheim would collapsed if Yggdrasil died.

“You expected this.” 

Hel nodded. “The last Fenrir failed in his duty to stop the rot from happening, he failed to destroy the gods, and now Yggdrasil has created another to do it.”

Hel leaned forward her palms down on the table. 

“The only question is what are you going to do?”

“On one hand, you could stand on your principles, fight against Ozpin, perhaps if you win, you will buy your people a few centuries before their world begins to crumble around them. They will engulf themselves in a war that will hold only the promise of extinction of all life. On the other, you could side with him, and aid in your people’s greatest victory. You could aid in your people’s survival.” Hel leaned forward, her smile mischievous rather than playful.

“My only question for you is this: Which will you choose?”


	58. A Choice, A Warning and A Reunion

Silence reined while Summer glowered at Hel. Let countless innocents, billions if not trillions of people die to save the gods, or gamble on the slim chance that they can find a way to save everyone? Summer, the leader couldn't make that choice.

She shook her head. Stroking her forehead with one hand as she closed her eyes. The faces of her daughter front and center in her mind's eye.

"Can you not choose? It is the easiest of choices." Hel pushed.

Summer opened her eyes to glare at Hel. She could have sworn she saw the flicker of a frown on Hel's face, but Hel's features smoothed, a small smile forming so quickly that Summer wasn't sure what she had seen.

"You certainly can't just stand by. That in itself aids Ozpin. You must make a choice, one or the other. A thousand years for the universe, or a future, full of potential for the gods, your daughter included."

"Daughters." Summer corrected, setting her tankard down on the table once more. "I have two you know."

"My apologies." Hel replied

Summer didn't believe the apology for a moment, but knew better than to make it an issue. She leaned back, knowing that even if Summer the leader couldn't make a choice. Her choice was already made. Summer the mother could. It was a simple question really, what choice would let her tuck her children in at night, what choice would Yang and Ruby take pride in? What choice would be the example she wanted to show them?

Truly Hel was right, it was the easiest of choices.

Both Yang and Ruby were already on Remnant after all.

She shook her head, guilt at dereliction of her duty eating at her.

"I'm not going to let Ozpin kill billions of people."

"Even when that is their fate anyway? Whether the billions of people today die, or the billions of people a thousand years from now die, does that really make a difference?" Hel asked, an eyebrow raised.

"We can find a solution! We have time!"

Hel leaned forward, her eyes bright as all her focus rested with a silent intensity of Summer.

"Time, Madam Rose, is something you do not have. Struggle as you wish, but know that fate is not easily shifted, and Yggdrasil's fate is to die." She leaned back, looking away as she swirled the mead in her tankard.

"We all die, but you wish to strip their deaths of meaning, of any hope of renewal." Hel said scowling as she returned her full attention to Summer. "Your victory will delay the inevitable, but it will not stop it. Our time is ending, we must adapt, or end with it."

Summer shook her head. "Our time ended long ago, what Ozpin is doing is only going to destroy what little of us, what little that makes us good, still remains."

Hel sighed, "you seem certain of your path then?" Her eyes glistened softly, even as she began to gnaw her lip.

Summer thought it odd. Why was Hel so nervous? Did hel excpect a different outcome? There would be time to think about that later. Summer lifted her tankard and downed what remained of the contents. The mead still warm despite the time they had sat talking seeming like ages. But perhaps that was just from the gravity of what had been revealed. How would Summer even begin to explain it to Winter and Cinder?

She slammed the tankard down onto the table, which shook a little, the basket of bread bouncing into the air from the force. The mead warmed her, and gave her a little more courage than she had before. Strengthening her resolve,Summer nodded once. She had made her choice. Hel slumped backwards a slow exhale as she rested her head on one fist.

"I wish you had chosen differently," She said, standing slowly as she pushed her chair backwards. Summer stiffened slightly, burying the instincts that told her to strike now. Hel couldn't hurt her until she was already at death's door right? Isn't that what she said?

But what if it was all a lie? She'd have no way to know.

"But honestly, I can't blame you. Uncle always said you were one of those people who just exuded hope. No wonder he and father both took such a liking to you."

Summer looked over the goddess. There was a wistful smile on her face. Seeing how she was talking about Thor, Summer wouldn't be surprised if Hel was recalling some long ago story, one of the few times Thor had visited Hel. It was a rarity, and one of the few indulgences Thor had given himself.

Hel returned her gaze to summer, Gesturing toward the door.

"You are free to leave Madam Rose, I would wish you luck, but luck cannot help you."

"Thank you for your hospitality. If you could send me home it would be appreciated." Summer said edging closer to the door while keeping her eye on the goddess. She had no doubt the goddess would refuse, but what was the harm in trying anyway?

"We may be of different minds on some issues Madam Rose, but I feel only fair to warn you, I cannot send you from Niflheim." Hel replied shaking her head.

Summer stiffened, a chill running down her spine.

"Cannot or will not?" She asked cautiously.

"Cannot, though in all likelihood, I wouldn't want to anyway. We are on opposing sides after all."

So it was as Summer had suspected. Hel had been biased towards Ozpin throughout the conversation. She hadn't expected the goddess to just admit it, but after all this, it was not that surprising of a revelation.

"I feel it is only honorable to tell you how to get free though. It wouldn't do to just abandon one who has served Valhalla and Vytal so diligently." She said, "even if you are now a traitor to everything that those places stand for."

Hel pointed out the door.

"In Niflheim the roots of Yggdrasil are exposed, and they serve as a connection to the rest of the worlds. Before the gods found a way open direct portals to other worlds, they would use Yggdrasil, as a road so to speak. The path is still open, you simply need a guide."

A stronger shiver ran down Summer's spine, this was unexpected. "And who will that be?"

Hel's smile turned feral, a small chuckle escaping from her lips. Summer felt as if all the warmth in the room had vanished, replaced by something far colder that the storm outside.

"Just someone from a distant memory. It is rare for the living and dead to say their final goodbyes to each other directly, isn't it?"

A single hand gesture towards the door caused Summer to instinctively turn, dread pooling in her stomach. The door, made of simple wooden planks, now felt as if it had been made from a single sheet of steel. Summer could feel her heart race in her chest as her legs felt heavier than ever before. The weight, she knew, was not born of exhaustion as it had been when she first arrived at the hut, this time, it was from from her mind, and her fear of what waited beyond the door.

"Calm down, Hel is just trying to rattle you. Deal with it later" She reminded herself. She was The head-Commander of the Guardians of Vytal. Just because she had to deal with a person long dead did not mean she could balk at her duty.

Regardless of what Hel said, Summer would never consider herself a traitor to Vytal. To Ozpin perhaps, but to Vytal? Never.

As she took her first step forward, she wondered who Hel would have chose. The goddess, seemingly pleasant and polite to a fault, also appeared to have a vindictive streak. She would make sure it was someone who Summer wanted to kill. Perhaps Odin, for sentencing Raven and Qrow to duties neither wanted, as well as condemning Valhalla to its demise by demanding Fenrir in chains.

Perhaps it would be one of a long string of people she had slain, ancient giants or some such foe. In that case, the trip back to Vytal would be unpleasant, she would have to deal with her foe bemoaning his or her lost family.

As she reached for the doorknob a worse thought struck her. Hel would want to make the trip back as torturous as possible. She couldn't interfere directly, and so couldn't stop Summer from leaving, but she could certainly make it so the Summer would prefer to remain.

"You sent Taurus didn't you?" She asked, her hand on the doorknob. The dawning realization still evident on her features.

Hel grinned widely. "Do you think me that cruel? To send the killer of your husband?" She asked.

Summer snarled as she swung the door open, expecting the billowing wind to roar into the house. She was surprised when she felt nothing of the sort. The winds were silent, and the snow fell gently, almost lazily. For Summer it would have been an perfect winter night. On such nights she had curled up with her friends in front of a warm fire, making up or using another world's winter celebrations as an excuse to drink and be merry. In the early years in Vytal, she had done so with Qrow, the two giggling as they chatted, eating whatever Qrow had managed to cobble together during the early food shortages.

Later she had done it with her husband as their daughters played with presents and relics they had found on other worlds. She always remembered those nights fondly, some of her most cherished memories before things had changed, before the gods had felt strong enough to reinstate their crusade against the Grimm, before Ozpin had wielded such power, before the guardians had been founded. Even now, she wondered if such happy days had ever really happened. Or if she had made them up, not something to regain as she believed but actuakky something to aspire to.

She supposed, she could always ask one who had been there. For he now stood in front of her. The color had been drained from his skin, and his hair had changed from it's sunny gold color to one of a dull blond. He was a muscular as ever, the cloth tight against his body. His clothes were the same as the had been the last tie she saw him, unchanged from the passage of time, the only evidence of damage a long glowing line that reached from his shoulder to his chest.

Summer paused, unsure what to do, or even what to say. Hello? No, too simplistic and not at all what she would have said in any other situation. Fortunately, or unfortunately perhaps, he beat her to the punch.

"Hi Sum, How are you doing?" He asked, a warm smile on his face.

Summer tried to close the door, only to find it wouldn't budge. She glared at it, seeing a hand placed a little above her own, gripping the door in what seemed a gentle way. Summer followed the arm up the Hel's face, all smile and narrowed eyes.

"You thought I was cruel enough to send Adam Taurus?"

Her grip on the door tightened as she leaned forward, her smile all teeth.

"No Madam Rose you underestimate me.

She said leaning close enough that Summer instinctively backed away , her feet stepping on new fallen snow as she stumbled away from the hut. Hel strode to the doorway stopping just short of leaving her lodging.

"It so nice, to see you back together. I always loved a cute love story." Hel said jutting her chin at the two of them, leaning to once side, she crossed her arms. "I wonder, what will you do when it is time to part?"

Summer snarled. Her hand wrapping it about her weapon,as she went to wield it against the goddess of death. She felt a hand grip her shoulder, the grip warm and familiar.

Hel laughed, backing out of the doorway.

"Stay safe you two." She sang as she shut the door to her home.


	59. A Somber Farewell and an Unexpected Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the extensive use of dialogue, Hopefully the fluff will make up for it!

Summer shouted at Hel through the door. Breaking free of his grasp, she yelled profanities for a solid minute before she noticed her voice being carried away by the rising winds. The snow once again beginning to buffet.

Slowly she stopped her insults, instead kicking the snow with a displeased huff.

He laughed, as hearty and jovial as she remembered.

Summer turned her head, glaring at the man.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

He shook his head, his dull hair shaking back and forth.

"You're the same as always. Whenever you get put in a situation where you can't kick or charm your way out of, you get angry."

Summer drew her self to her full height. "I don't see you helping much Tai."

Taiyang chuckled, shaking his head as his hands fell to his hips.

"We can always get moving. Hel told me to get you out of here. Not like I wouldn't do it anyway."

Summer took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before letting it go.

"What's the plan?" She asked.

"Same as usual, beat up monsters, get to the extraction point, that's Yggdrasil's roots by the way, and get out."

"Are you allowed to be free from Niflheim?" She asked.

Taiyang laughed again, but it was different this time, not quite the cheerful laugh it had been before.

"Ever heard of the dead coming back to life?"

"No." Summer said, she supposed it was stupid to think there was a chance. Hel may have been the goddess of death but she, like all the gods, was more of a representative of her aspect rather than a master of it.

"Well, there's a first time for everything right?" He said, a cocky grin on his face.

Summer couldn't help but laugh. Only Tai would think that way. Maybe Ruby too now that she thought of it.

The smile on her face vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.

Taiyang picked up on it quickly. He closed the small distance between them, resting his hands on her shoulders.

'What's wrong Sum?"

Summer groaned as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"It's-"

"Nothing relevant to the mission," Taiyang supplied rolling his eyes. Summer gave him a deadbeat stare.

"I know, I know. You hate it when I finish sentences for you, but it was just so obvious."

Summer let out a huff. Deciding that a lecture on how rude it was to interrupt was pointless on Taiyang Xiao-Long.

"I'll explain it better." He promised as he began to trudge through the snow, "we'll have plenty of time for that."

Summer followed closely,struggling to find her footing in the snow. Her calves ached, but she ignored the pain as she quickened her pace.

"It'll be a long way," he added, slowing his pace as the land sloped downward "I don't have Hel's ability to shadow-walk."

"Shadow-walk?" Summer asked, keeping pace with him in the growing blizzard.

He nodded. "Hel can skip between shadows. The shadows can't be that far from each other. Still, it's useful."

Summer hummed,wondering if that information would be useful. Hel said she couldn't intervene with the living, but she could easily have been lying. Or at least not telling the entire truth. Summer wouldn't put that past a daughter of Loki.

"Anyway, how are Ruby and Yang? Those two still as wild as ever?" He asked, cheer and even more energy slipping into his voice.

"I actually want some help on that front." Summer said.

"I can help with that. What'd Yang do this time?"

"Ruby actually." Summer admitted. Taiyang coughed, his eyes wide as his head spun nearly ninety degrees to look at Summer.

"Ruby? What did the little rosebud do?" He asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"It's a long story." Summer noted.

"It always is. We have the time." He said, slinging a arm around Summer and pulling her close.

Summer didn't resist. She leaned in close, wrapping and arm along his side.

"Ragnarok is coming." She began. Taiyang nodded but remained silent.

Summer took a deep breath as she began to explain what had happened. Starting from when Fenrir was discovered, she explained how she freed Blake, leading to the teams landing on a world called Remnant. She spoke of Ozpin's inexplicable actions, her pursuit of the truth to Valhalla's and her arrival in Niflheim.

Taiyang remained silent. but listened intently, giving Summer's shoulder a gentle squeeze at times throughout the story.

"And that's when Hel asked me to choose. Let Ozpin do as he wishes, or stop him on the off chance that we could find a solution."

Taiyang let out a sigh. "That's rough. And let me guess, she tried to leverage Yang and Ruby against you."

Summer nodded. She felt his grip tighten again as his face twisted into an unpleasant scowl.

"It's wrong." He finally said.

"I chose the latter. I chose to fight," Summer said.

"Good." Taiyang replied. "Any god who would side with Ozpin doesn't deserve the title."

"I think Hel thought you would try to convince me otherwise."

"Then she's stupid." He replied, "Did she really think I would do anything but support you? I just want my family safe, and if you think this is the best choice, I'll support your decision."

"Thanks." Summer whispered into his shoulder.

Silence reigned for a moment.

"But enough about the mission," Taiyang said, waving a hand, "tell me did Weiss and Ruby finally get hitched? Or how about Yang and Blake?"

He paused awkwardly, "I mean, before the whole Blake becoming corrupted thing happened."

Summer frowned, shaking her head.

"Weiss was killed in action. And Blake… well, her corruption threw a wrench in the works there."

"They just can't catch a break." Taiyang muttered with a sigh.

"They're not alone. Zeus is getting between Jaune and Pyrrha too."

"That bastard? How has no one put him in his place?"

"He's working with Ozpin."

"Yet another reason to hate his guts."

Summer laughed. It was so easy talking to Taiyang, as easy as it had always been. How had she fallen so easily back into old habits, how had he so easily make her feel like she was at home on this frozen wasteland? She was snapped from her thoughts by another question.

"How's Qrow?" Taiyang asked. Uneasiness apparent in his voice.

Summer let out a sigh. "He's… he's dealing with it. He quit drinking."

"And picked up another hobby?" He ventured.

"Women." Summer said dejectedly, garnering a groan from Taiyang as he covered his face with his free hand.

"Ah…" Taiyang said. He scrunched his face to the side, an expression Summer knew well. And spoke volumes about what Taiyang was thinking of. Taiyang scratched his chin, looking towards the sky as if for the first time, examining the brownish hue of a world he had resided in for years.

"You're still friends though right?" He asked.

"Yep," Summer replied cheerfully, popping the P. "He mostly works with Raven, but we're all still friends."

"Even Raven?" Taiyang asked his eyebrows rising as he looked at her.

Summer nodded.

"And have she and Yang…" Taiyang began, pausing as he struggled to phrase his question.

Summer looked at her boots, kicking some snow.

"They…" She shuffled somewhat, trying to gather her thoughts, "it's slow. You know Raven, she puts up barriers, and it takes time for her to take them back down."

"At least they've started talking though," Summer said with a smile, "and that's definitely progress."

Taiyang let out a laugh, his heart clearly not in it.

"I don't even want to know what it started out as."

"Yelling, swearing, the occasional insult. Yang was angry." She looked at Taiyang, concentrating on his eyes.

" _Very_  angry Tai. She was so angry at Raven that even Ruby was scared, and it made things…" she sighed rubbing her hand through her hair. "It made things tough for awhile."

They walked in silence, the crunching of snow under their feet the only sound either could hear.

"There it is." Taiyang said eventually.

Summer looked up, tired of examining the laces of her combat duo stopping in their tracks as they saw the roots of Yggdrasil, the dying World Tree.

Only a single root was visible. It appearance made it look like a warped pillar,weaving back and forth through the sky as it reached up beyond the clouds. It would rise and fall glowing with different colors. Bursts of yellows and greens, followed by the occasional reddish hue flooded upwards through the root into the sky.

"It looks like it's made of crystal." Summer said, gazing as colors streaked through the root,warped in color as though being shown through frosted glass.

"It used to look like an actual tree root, and it was much thicker." Taiyang said.

"Are you ready?" Summer asked. The question leaving her mouth barely above a whisper.

"I'm always ready Sum." Taiyang said, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"They say the first step is the hardest." Summer said.

"Well, we're well past the first step, so this should be easy."

Summer punched Taiyang, getting little more than a chuckle from the large man.

He raised one foot and took a step forward.

"See? Easy?"

Summer took a step, and then another. And then yet another.

The duo began their trek again. Moving ever closer to the root, to freedom. To saying goodbye.

Summer had to admit it was just like Taiyang to jokingly claim he could defeat death, that he could escape. But to Summer, it was obvious that it had only been a joke. She knew Taiyang better than anyone. She had married him, loved him, made love to him. She knew when he was lying.

Or more precisely, hiding the truth to make sure that she could leave.

" _Would it be so bad to stay? Ruby and Yang are safe on Remnant._ _"_  She thought. Her mind wondered what it would be like remaining with Taiyang. To stay here, build a lodge like Hel's. Accept that Ozpin would win, not because he should, but because how could they face a god so much more powerful than themselves? If he was a Great God as he claimed to be, Anything Summer did would be for nothing. The raw power of their weapons, hewn from Yggdrasil, gave a Great God more power than Summer could likely comprehend.

"We're here Summer." Taiyang said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Before her lay the root to Yggdrasil.

"All you need to do is place your hand on the root and think of Vytal. You'll be back there in only a few moments. After that, make your way back to the City, the actual branch shouldn't be that far from Ozpin's Tower.

"You can't come can you?"

Taiyang shook his head.

"I wish I could, but if I try, I'll vanish forever, reabsorbed into Yggdrasil, the only reminder of my existence will be that." He said pointing into the distance at a rising ice pillar.

"They're grave markers." Summer said.

"Yeah, those who forget what life is like, they become the Ashen, and those who decide to become one with Yggdrasil, those who decide to give up, they come here."

And those who do neither?

"We wait, for friends and family, or for Ragnarok, when we'll fight for the new world."

"The new world?" Summer asked.

Taiyang kissed her forehead. "Some secrets," he whispered, "are not for the living."

Summer scowled, pouting as she looked at him.

He chuckled, kissing her again.

"Don't try to Ruby-eyes me. I'm immune." He laughed, as Summer cracked a weak smile.

She tilted her head upwards, catching Taiyang in a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her lower back as she placed a hand on his cheek. Neither tried to deepen the kiss, instead just letting the moment stretch.

When they did separate, Taiyang looked at her with a sad smile. "I love you Summer Rose." He said.

"I love you too Taiyang Xiao-Long."

They separated, Taiyang reaching for Summer's arm and gently placing her hand on the root.

"Now save the world.  _Xiao-Long_."

Summer couldn't help but chuckle with mirth as she began to fade.

"You and your puns. Goodbye for now Tai." She said.

Taiyang watched as she faded away, Yggdrasil sending her back to Vytal.

His smile fell when she vanished. The snow crunched beneath him, old instincts making him turn to face the figure before him.

"So, did it go well?"

Taiyang glared at the goddess "Summer will never give up, not as long as she has something to fight for." He said raising his fists.

Hel smiled, laughing as she passed him, leaving her back exposed as she traced her hands along the roots of Yggdrasil. The roots glowed at her touch, pulsing it cadence with her gentle strokes.

"If her journey ended here, that next act would be far less interesting." She muttered.

Taiyang paused, lowering his fists as he strode forward.

'What do you mean? What plan do you have for her?" he demanded.

Hel looked up, blinking as her smile faded.

"Plan? I have no plan for Madam Rose." She said blankly, "I only find her an interesting piece on to keep on the board."

Taiyang pointed a finger at the goddess, the difference in power momentarily forgotten as he jabbed it at her. Earning a frown from the goddess.

"You wanted her to leave! You  _knew_  I would urge her to go!"

"Of course." She said batting the finger away as she stepped in close, "I like to hedge my bets." She whispered into his ear, Quickly stepping away as Taiyang snarled at her.

"Besides, letting Madam Rose go has little effect on the end result." She explained with a chuckle, "she is an annoyance, and little more."

Hel held out a hand to her side, the air shimmered beside her as a shape took form. At first it was blurry, almost as if seeing a persons reflection on rippling water through frosted glass.

"After all, the number of foes is still reduced by one." She whispered, just loud enough for Taiyang to hear. The tone chilled him, the mockery caused his blood to boil, at he clenched his fist, barely holding it at his side instead of throwing it at the goddess before him. Instead he watched as the form took shape,still translucent and lacking detail, but the outline was etched into his mind. He had seen it many time before, and never expected to see her again. Taiyang resisted the urge to cry out, he wouldn't give Hel the satisfaction of seeing him suffer so.

"Greet her for me will you? I'm sure she will be overjoyed to see you again." Hel said patting his cheek before slipping past him and vanishing into a nearby shadow.

Taiyang swallowed, his eyes watering as he saw the shape solidify and gain detail.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The next few chapters may take a little longer than usual, I've honestly been avoiding this upcoming section for awhile I know that I have finally committed to it, I want to make sure I do it right!
> 
> On a more positive note, The Niflheim was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed this bit as much as I did writing it!
> 
> Reviews, Follows and Favorites are appreciated, and con-crit is always welcome!
> 
> Have a great week!
> 
> Deamonhunter


	60. Tis the Wind and Nothing More

Lie leaned forward, staring through the bushes for even an vague outline of their pursuer. Valkyrie leaned behind him, one hand on his shoulder as she squirmed, her usual energy bottled. Faint breathing the only sound that could reveal their presence.

If it was anyone else, Lie would have told them to be quiet, but he knew Valkyrie, and knew it took an incredible amount of focus for her not to react to the crunching of leaves and snapping of sticks.

To most, those sounds would have indicated a novice, someone incapable of being stealthy. Perhaps it was Yang, stomping around in search of whoever was following them. While that could be the case, Lie thought it unlikely. Yang would have fired into the bushes, tried to flush out her prey with educated guesses as to their location.

Blake likewise wouldn’t make such sounds. She’d sneak up on them, using her superior hearing and eyesight to make hiding all the more difficult. She would have patiently closed in on their location, laying in wait as she forced them to move, like rats caught in a maze. 

Which might have left others to assume Ruby was pursuing them. But the sniper would have remained in one area, urging her team to move. As they left, Lie and Valkyrie would have to follow, and then she would have her targets, their deaths would be so swift they wouldn’t have the chance to realize who blew their brains out. 

Which left only Raven. And Raven, the successor to Muginn, would not have been so careless as to make those noises unintentionally.

That in turn meant she didn’t know where they were, and was trying to flush them out by making noise. 

But the more concerning question was whether it was her making those sounds or her brother. Lie and Valkyrie knew Raven was following their friends, but would she risk going alone? Or did Glynda assign more guards to their friends? For all they knew, Lie and Valkyrie were walking into a trap. One, once sprung, neither of them would escape from. 

Lie did not need anyone to explain to him what would happen if they were surrounded out in the open. At Mountain Glenn, they had the element of surprise as well as allies and had still lost that battle.

Here, in the wild, they would be soundly beaten, and captured. Perhaps they would even be killed, depending on the mood of their would-be captors. He doubted their fight under Mountain Glenn would be seen as water under the bridge for Glynda’s Cabal, and Ruby, Jaune and their other friends wouldn’t be much better.

Lie couldn’t really blame them, they only had a small part of the story after all. 

If they knew what he knew, he was almost certain most would at the very least understand why they made their choice. They would not agree to actively side with them, but would instead try to find another solution, refusing to accept what Lie and Valkyrie already knew, that there wasn’t another reliable option left, and the universe was far too important to gamble on hope.

Lie wished that to be the case. Friends had disagreements. They argued, but the difference in opinion between they and their friends had never been so large. It had never come to lethal blows before, and Lie couldn't help but shiver at the thought of Jaune, Pyrrha or even Ruby pointing their weapons at them, eyes hardened with resolve to kill former friends. He didn’t want it to come to that, he was trying to save as many as he could.

They choice was simple, either everyone dies, or a few die and the rest live. It wasn’t fair, it never was. He could only choose the lesser evil and accept the consequences.

He just didn’t expect to fight his friends.

A rustle to their left caught his attention, his hand gripping Stormflower even as he expected nothing. Raven was an accomplished tracker and scout. One mistake could easily end in an ambush, and Raven wouldn’t waste the chance to catch one of them by surprise. 

“I think we should just reveal ourselves.” Valkyrie whispered as they started to move, crouching low to the ground. The rustling of branches faded, But Lie kept his eyes in the general direction of the sound. 

“She’d kill us. Raven isn’t our friend.”

“She’s Yang’s mother.”

“Estranged mother.” Lie said, “Yang made that quite clear.”

“She’s less likely to get emotional, that could be a good thing. She’ll take our case seriously and look at it objectively.” Valkyrie urged, her grip on Lie’s shoulder tightening. 

“If she even let’s us talk.” 

“She’s not a cold-blooded killer!”

“If this is Vytal’s Raven, Odin’s assassin, a Cold-blooded killer is exactly what she is.”

“So was Qrow, and you know how nice he is!” Valkyrie said.

“Nora!” Lie hissed, putting a finger to his lips. Valkyrie clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide as her eyes quickly whipped right and left.

“Besides, if it isn’t, if this is the Remnant Raven, then we just caused ourselves a lot more problems, and maybe even put our friends in danger.”

Lie sighed, scanning the foliage for signs of movement. Seeing no one he pushed forward. His eyes narrowing in on a large tree, from the bark perhaps one of oak. He moved left and slid behind a nearby tree, eyes concentrating on the oak tree before him. The larger oak tree would have been better, the heavy foliage and thick trunk would have hidden them completely.

Raven undoubtedly would have thought the same,and unless Lie had overestimated her, would be lying in wait there, waiting for them to make to logical move. The one that any person with an ounce of intelligence would make. 

If I were her, I’d wait in the tree, and when we moved closer I would strike from above. Kill one of us as I descended and interrogate the other at my leisure. 

He couldn’t let that happen. And that meant he had to sacrifice a few tactical advantages. Hopefully that wouldn’t upset the balance of power too much. 

“You’re overthinking things Ren. Let’s see if she’s willing to talk. Weren’t we planning on talking anyway?” Valkyrie said, whispering the words into his ear. Lie ground his teeth, Valkyrie didn’t need to remind him of his own words. 

“We don’t even know if this is the correct Raven Branwen” he said.

“Of course it’s not. We both know it. No mortal could hide this long from both of us.”

She was probably correct, but he couldn’t be sure. They didn’t have enough information.

But did it really matter? Raven, either Raven, would see them as a threat. People to be captured at the very least, and executed with extreme prejudice at the worst. 

“If you won’t do it I will.” Valkyrie said. Marching out of their hiding spot with her hands raised above her head. 

“Nora!” Lie hissed as he tried to grab his friend. But she strode forward to quickly and he was left grasping only at the air. 

“Raven! It’s me! I just wanna talk!” Valkyrie said as she barged through bushes. Lie cringed at the racket his mind racing for a way to solve this situation. Valkyrie walked further from their hiding place, and it did not take long for the trees between them to block any clear view of her. His heart pounded as he imagined Raven appearing, only to cut down Valkyrie, Lie too far away to stop it. If she did appear, the trees would block any clear shot of her.

He cursed as he pushed himself out of his hiding place standing up, he rushed forward, quickening his pace as Valkyrie once again came into view.

She stood at the foot of a large rock in a clearing. It was small, maybe only twenty feet in diameter, with gnarled roots and rotting branches littering the ground around it. The remains of an old fire pit lay near the rock. The rock itself jutted outward, as if bursting from the ground. 

“What the hell are you thinking Nora!” Lie demanded his voice raising as he strode forward, “Do you want to get yourself killed? This isn't a game, Raven is a Assassin, she removed Odin’s political enemies for years! Do you think she would hesitate to kill two gods that she has every reason to believe have betrayed Vytal?” 

Valkyrie drew Magnhild and lowered it to the ground. 

“Put your weapons on the ground Ren.” She said.

Lie paused, scanning the surrounding area, he turned back and forth, his head nearly whipping about as he did so. There was no evidence of Raven, no evidence of a new threat. 

“Do you see Raven?” He asked.

Valkyrie shook her head. And instead pointed at the tree-line.

Lie paused, looking at where she was pointing. Was Ruby lying in wait, was Valkyrie in her cross hairs?

There was no glint of the sun reflecting off a scope, and her signature red cloak was nowhere to be seen. Unsurprising, as it would have been hidden by the sea of green.

“Come out. We just want to talk.”

“That not what Yang and the others saw.” A voice said.

Ren spun, planting his feet as he reached for Stormflower. He froze as cold steel brushed his chin. His heart felt like it stopped in his chest as his eyes narrowed in on eyes that were deep red. Her face was set in a scowl. Her blade was raised, blade edge point upwards as the tip pressed ever so gently against his throat.

“They saw two of their friends attack innocent people. They saw two gods that swore to defend people siding with the enemy.” She said. Her eyes narrowed. “Qrow saw two innocent gods being forced to do something against their will.” She pushed her blade just a little, Lie’s aura flashed, and he took a single step backwards. Raven did not move even as Lie’s throat left the edge of her blade.

“I saw traitors working with the Great Wolf who destroyed our home.” She said

“We aren’t working with the wolf.” Valkyrie said,”We trying to stop the end of the universe. We’re trying to bring balance!”

Raven’s eyes whipped to Valkyrie. Concentrating on her for a moment. Her sword lowered just an inch.

“And what Balance is created by attacking your friends?” She asked.

“Salem, that is what they call her, she’s actually Weiss! Our Weiss. She was sent on a mission by Yggdrasil. If Remnant is flooded with Grimm, it will generate the negative emotions Yggdrasil needs to survive. Everyone gets to go home! We don’t have to fight anymore!”

If the news was a revelation to Raven it did not show. Her eyes bored into Valkyrie, searching for something. They flicked back and forth between Lie and Valkyrie before settling on Lie. He nodded.

“She’s telling the truth. Sa- Weiss, rescued us after we were separated from the others, and then explained everything.”

“And Weiss is the white haired woman who Cinder Fall served?” Raven asked, as she lowered her sword.

Lie nodded, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“Weiss didn’t like Cinder, and she doesn’t like what she herself is doing, but she’s been here for years and hasn’t found another solution. Cinder was vicious, but she was also the Fall Maiden of Remnant, Weiss needed that power.” 

Raven paused a minute before nodding, sheathing her sword. Her left hand still grasping the sheath.

“This is a lot to take in. And frankly it is mostly unbelievable. But Yang trusted you and that means something.” Raven said, tapping the palm of her right on her sword.

Valkyrie smiled. “Great!”

“Do you have a way to contact Weiss? I’ll need some verification of this story and I have a few questions myself.”

“Ren has the contact info on his scroll.” She said walked up to him a placed a hand on his shoulder. “Go on Ren! Call Weiss!”

Lie nodded reaching a hand into his pocket and wrapping it around his scroll.

The scroll was halfway to his face, already ringing, as raw instinct told his muscles to fall backwards. The scroll fell from his hand as he pushed himself backwards and scrambled to maintain his balance. A high pitched scream gave him a surge of adrenaline as he pulled out Stormflower, firing to rounds and forcing Raven back as he scrambled to his partner.

Valkyrie clutched her face, blood seeping through her fingers.

“Just a graze. Head wounds bleed a lot.” She muttered. 

“Why the hell did you do that?” He demanded his mind still reeling from the discovery that Raven’s blade could cut through aura. Was her weapon similar to Adam’s?

Raven did not answer, she walked over to his scroll and pocketed it.

“No backup this time.” She said as she raised her blade. “now surrender, or die.”

“No.” He said,gripping Stormflower tightly.

“Keep her busy, I’ll get Magnhild.” Valkyrie said.

“Shame.” Raven said. Her blade glowing red.

Then she burst forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay! Many real life things and and Christmas got in the way of editing. Good news is I have the next two chapters typed up, bad news is neither of them have been edited yet. So, while hopefully it won;t take a month to get a chapter out, I give no promises the next chapter will be out this time next week.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> All the best,   
> Deamonhunter


	61. On the Morrow She Will Leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the new year has been treating everyone well. Time for a fight scene. Raven vs Nora and Ren.
> 
> Let's do this.

For Lie, it happened far too quickly, he pushed off with his right foot, firing to shots wildly as he separated himself from his partner. The bark of pistols would grab attention, potentially risking Ruby and the others rushing to aid Raven. But at this point, stealth and subtlety were pointless. He was just trying to survive.

Raven had made it clear, in her mind they had two options, surrender or die. Since Lie had no intention to surrender, that meant Raven would come after him full force. From her reputation, Raven would have no qualms about killing them. And with a weapon that could cut through aura, she could do that easily enough.

The rounds he fired missed wildly, and Raven continued in a straight line towards the downed Valkyrie. What would have been a lethal strike was stopped only as Valkyrie summoned lightning from her fingers. Raven bolted to the left, shoving off her left foot as she landed on the boulder.

Lie squeezed the triggers of Stormflower, the fully automatic pistols muzzles flashed as rounds spewed forth. Raven surged forward. Her blade raised over her right shoulder as she bore down on Valkyrie, who herself had just shoved herself to her feet.

Valkyrie dove toward her beloved hammer, her hands wrapping around the haft as she pulled herself into a roll, springing upwards as she rose. Magnhild changed forms in her hands. She spun, firing two grenades at Raven. Raven slashed twice in quick succession, the explosion blinding both Lie and Valkyrie.

"She's coming!" Valkyrie shouted as she shifted Magnhild back into its hammer form.

The silhouette of Odin's assassin couldn't be seen through the cloud of smoke, Ren fired a few bursts, hoping to flush her out.

"Where is she?" He hissed, casting his gaze about.

"Down!"

He didn't need to be told twice, dropping as he spun. A crimson blade swung overhead, right where his neck had been moments before. Raven twisted out of the way of the bullets, dancing on one foot before striking downward on Lie's shoulder.

Lie brought his pistols up to block. As the crimson blade struck the pistols' bladed guards it flashed red, digging into the blades before coming to a halt.

_It_ _'s aura!_  Lie realized as he used the moments to push himself backwards and conveniently out of the way as Valkyrie charged in with a hammer blow. Raven was already out of the way as the hammer struck down, dirt spraying as Valkyrie hauled her weapon out of the pit she had made. Raven landed lightly on the boulder, blade pointed at Lie.

Her glare was dispassionate, only the faintest hint of a frown on her face.

"You can't win this fight. Your aura won't help you. Give up, this doesn't have to end with you dead."

"You lied to us!" Valkyrie said.

"Only because you so blatantly lied to me." Raven said "Weiss alive? If she was she would have contacted Vytal."

"She couldn't!"

"This is Weiss Schnee You are talking about, she would never have stopped trying." Raven pointed her sword at them. "Again, give up, don't make your former friends mourn your deaths as well."

Lie snarled, firing another two rounds at Raven. Valkyrie shot lightning,the electricity twisting and branching as it left her fingertips. Some struck the ground,igniting the dry branches and leaves.

"So be it." Raven uttered, leaping off the boulder, she charged at Valkyrie. Valkyrie swung Magnhild in a wide arc, only to watch gobsmacked as Raven leapt onto the hammer head,vaulted over her and continued her charge towards Lie. Lie let out a burst of rounds.

Once again, Raven seemingly danced around their attacks.

" _She_ _'s quite dedicated to dodging."_  Lie noted. " _Perhaps it has something to do with her attacks._ _"_

An inanimate object couldn't have Aura, but her blade had flashed as if it did. Was she transferring her aura to her weapon?

He had no time to ponder the possibility as he was forced to dance out of the way of a flurry of slashes. The last came to close, and he batted it away with Stormflower, cursing as he heard the cracking of metal.

One of Stormflower's blades had broken, and in a single moment his ability to defend himself was nearly halved.

Stormflower's sacrifice was not in vain however. The blade had broken free, but had slowed the strike enough for Lie to push off with his foot, leaping backwards clumsily.

Clumsily, because he felt his heel strike a branch which rolled from under him. He lost his balance and tumbled backwards, his back meeting several other branches which broke under his weight.

Raven rose her blade, edge pointed at Lie's throat as she thrust down wards.

"Not with me here!" Valkyrie shouted. The boom of a grenade in the background shaking the very ground. The force of the explosion propelled Valkyrie forwards, she smashed down with her hammer, forcing Raven to once again retreat.

Raven hissed in annoyance as she narrowed her eyes.

Lie lifted himself gasping for air as Valkyrie stood in front of him protectively.

"She's concentrating her aura on her blade, somehow that sharpens the blade enough to cut through aura."

"Makes sense." Valkyrie muttered.

Raven smirked.

"That was a secret?" She asked. "I though that personal skill was common knowledge. Plenty of others can do it too."

"But it's purely offensive, you lose the defensive abilities of aura when you use it." Lie concluded.

"Really?" Raven asked smiling.

She tensed, "only one way to find out!"

She surged forward,slashing horizontally, Valkyrie raised the haft of her hammer, the sword slammed into it with the screech of metal striking metal. Any normal blade would have broken, or bounced off,but Raven's sword dug into the haft, cut smoothly into the core before coming to a halt.

Raven's eyes widened as Valkyrie smirked, raising her hammer and dragging raven's sword up with it. Raven snarled as she tried to tug her sword away, but it was stuck fast. With a curse, she released her grip on her weapon.

Lie saw his chance, aiming quickly, he fired. Praying the the rounds would strike true.

Raven leapt away cursing as a bullet lodged itself in her left calf. The telltale glow of aura returning to her too slowly to stop the bullet, two others seemed to graze her, but her aura flickered as they struck, and they bounced off her skin.

She buckled to one knee as she landed. Her aura quickly stemmed the bleeding, and she stood, most of her weight on her good leg as she raised her arms to defend herself.

"Give up Raven, you're unarmed. We don't want to hurt you." Valkyrie said.

Raven chuckled. Crouching low, a whirling black and red portal appearing beside her.

Valkyrie stepped forward, yanking Raven's blade out of her haft and tossing it behind her, well out of Raven's reach.

Lie raised an arm, blocking Valkyrie's path.

"Let her go." he said, garnering a raised eyebrow and open mouth from Valkyrie.

They both watched as Raven limped into the portal.

"You'll regret this." She said quickly before springing into the portal.

Lie sighed, Raven was probably right. But at least, if Jaune and the others came looking for them, they could point out that they hadn't taken the chance to kill her.

He looked at Valkyrie, blood caked her face, her eye still closed shut, sealed with dried blood.

"How's the eye?" he asked, holstering Stormflower's broken pistol as he walked up to her. His hand reached out brushing some of her hair out of the way so he could get a better look. Valkyrie let him, but hissed as he gently touched the flesh around the wound.

The wound was… well it was bad. The cut was deep and the flesh swollen. The blood had sealed the wound for the time being, and he avoid prodding the area too much, frightened of the possibility of reopening the wound.

"I think I've become a pirate." Valkyrie said, forcing a chuckle that was cut off with a gasp of pain.

Lie forced a smile.

"It's deep, so you might be right."

Of course she was right. The blade had cut into bone, and likely through her eye. To think she would ever see out of it again would be laughable.

Well, she'd probably enjoy picking out an eyepatch. Lie tried to laugh at the image, thinking it would put her at ease. He close his eyes and shook his head.

"What will I do with you?" He asked as he looked at her, expecting a goofy grin and a salute.

So he was puzzled as he saw her eyebrows shoot up. His eyes focused on a patch of grass behind her, already blurred by a slight haze of smoke. Bile rose in his chest.

" _Where_ _'s Raven sword?"_ he thought absently. The gears in his mind still turning.

"Behind!"

Lie turned, instinctively raising Stormflower as he pushed Valkyrie to the side. She double stepped, balancing herself as she pulled back her hammer.

Lie only saw the crimson blade as it swung down as he raised his arm. The blade biting into his left forearm and through bone.

He diverted his arm, yanking it to the side as the blade slid free, the cutting motion severing what remained of the connective tissue. His arm fell as he howled. The pain was staggering, it was hot and cold and everything in between. He didn't understand, he couldn't, his brain could not comprehend that there was now a bloody stump below his elbow.

"Told you you would regret it." Raven hissed, halfway out of her portal as she thrust downward, aiming at his sternum.

It happened almost in slow motion, The blade edging ever closer. His heart beat in hsi ears. Ravens eyes wide, almost maniacal as she thrust her sword ever closer.

A glint of silver appeared in the corner of his vision, barely perceived, less than a moment before he heard Valkyrie's howl. The head of Magnhild slammed into Raven's side, But she seemed to hold steady, a flash of red glowed across her body absorbing the force. A boom echoed in his ears, he watched as the murderous gaze in Raven's eyes was replaced with another as her eyes narrowed, her aura flashed before fading entirely.

Then as if someone had pressed a fast forward on reality, time sped up. Her blade skittered off to the side, digging into the dirt a foot from his head. He heard bones crack and crumble. Her body contorting before being flung from the portal it still dwelt within. A blur of black spun before him, rolling as it crashed in a heap to the side.

Silence reigned, interrupted only by the gasps of breath and pounding of hearts.

"Ren!" Valkyrie shouted, dropping Magnhild as she rushed over to him.

"Your arm! We have to stop the bleeding!" She said the panic in her voice clearly audible as she searched for something, anything that could be used as a bandage.

Lie winced as he pushed himself up.

"My aura will stem the bleeding, We need to leave. Ruby and the others are almost certainly nearby." He said, casting a glance at Raven's form.

A weak, wet wheezing sound emanated from her mouth. Her left arm was bent unnaturally at the elbow, almost as if compressed and then stretched beyond it's limits,twisting her forearm like a corkscrew. Most damning of all, her side seemed to be curved sharply inward. Frankly, the fact she was still in one piece after taking a strike from Magnhild without aura was surprising.

"But her aura…" Valkyrie began.

"Broke, she took the grenade-propelled strike directly."

"But she's  _Raven Branwen_. A simple hammer strike shouldn't be able to… to…"

The echoes of voices could be heard. They were distant, but coming closer. Lie knew he didn't want to be here when they arrived. He didn't want to explain this, couldn't explain this mess.

Once, he would have, once, they would have given him the benefit of the doubt. At Mountain Glenn, they would have, after Mountain Glenn he thought they would. But now? They would see a dying woman, not the two friends that were badly injured.

They would see two murders and a victim.

What was it Raven had said? Their " _former friends_ _"_  was it? Lie could almost laugh at the cruelty of their situation.

They had tried so hard, and for what? Their friends wouldn't listen to them now. They had gone too far.

Lie hauled himself off, glancing at the blood dripping from his stump. There wasn't much, his aura concentrating on stemming the wound.

He and Valkyrie looked at Raven, her chest raising in falling as ragged breaths left her broken body.

Valkyrie knelt down beside her. One hand outstretched, shaking but uncertain of where to touch.

"I'm so sorry Raven. We didn't want this, we didn't want any of this. We just wanted to help. This… this…"

She faded off, her words catching her her throat as tears dripped from her eyes.

Lie walked up. Red eyes flicked to him. They were glassy, unseeing.

He kept her gaze as he rested his remaining hand on Valkyrie's shoulder.

"We need to go. Now." He urged.

Valkyrie rubbed her good eye. She stood with a nod.

"If you see them, tell them we're sorry."

Raven's eyes flicked to Valkyrie, but she made no sound other than the jagged wheezing of her breath.

The two gods turned, Valkyrie lifted Magnhild and holstered it. Raven watched as they trudged back into the forest, struggling to hide themselves within it.

Ruby Rose arrived in the clearing soon after, attracted by the smoke and gunshots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So yeah, that was a thing. 
> 
> Next chapter might be a week or it might be two (two at the most).


	62. Quoth Raven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried a different writing style with this chapter. Just a bit of experimentation. Please tell me what you think of it in the comments!

 

* * *

Salem ground her teeth. What were they thinking fighting Raven like that? Did they truly think Raven wouldn't actively try to kill them? Raven was an elite warrior, challenging her was absurd, they should have backed away. Should have retreated.

_No, calm down, you don_ _'t know what went through their minds, and their phone call indicated things had been going well._

Salem glanced at the scroll in her hand before once again looking at the viewer before her. The spherical Grimm floated lazily, her eyes locked on Raven's prone form. Blood oozed from her leg. A mild graze, enough to hurt, but not lethal. The crushing wound from Magnhild however…

"Calm down, there is nothing you can do." She muttered rubbing her temples. "Ruby is there now, and you can't judge the damage accurately from here."

Perhaps Her aura absorbed most of the blow, perhaps she hadn't been as weakened from the absence of Yggdrasil's power as she thought. That would be the best outcome, but from the way Raven lay, sprawled out while one arm was bent at an odd angle, she doubted it. The injuries could be numerous, at best, her arm had been crushed and she had a few broken ribs. She would recover, but never fight again.

But that was only the beginning of her troubles, Lie and Valkyrie would certainly react negatively to what they had just done. Jaune and Pyrrha were forgiving, but the fact that Lie and Valkyrie ran would only imply cold-blooded murder, and Salem could not imagine either forgiving that even if it was their closest friends who had committed the act.

She felt a weight settle on her shoulders, another burden. She shook her head, it was time to act directly.

"Emerald." She commanded, summoning the green haired woman who stood outside her throne room. The doors opened Emerald appearing with a slow nod.

"I have an assignment that must be done quickly. Bring Neopolitan."

* * *

Her arm didn't hurt, must be shock starting to set in. Raven took stock of her injuries. She couldn't move , so probably a severed spinal cord, that would take her out of the fight for awhile. Oh, and she was pretty sure her arm had been crushed. Magnhild was not a pleasant weapon to be struck with, heavy and blunt. Blunt force trauma to the upper arm as well then; she would probably need to have the arm amputated, which would keep her out of the fight even longer. Fortunately not forever though, Vytal's medical knowhow was enough to let her recover from those injuries in time. She would need to retrain, but that would be more annoying than anything else.

The spike of pain as she tried to inhale reminded her of another injury, the wet sloppy exhale indicated a punctured lung. And that her aura was drained, there was no way to stop the bleeding that came with the injuries, and her body was not mending itself.

Okay, maybe she wouldn't be getting back into the fight at all.

'Raven!" A voice shouted, high pitched and panicked.

It was too high-pitched to be Yang, so it was probably Ruby. Which would mean Yang was nearby. Raven wondered what Yang would think of her current state, Would she make a pun? Probably not, and if she did that would hurt, especially since Raven knew she would laugh. She didn't think she had the ability to consciously maintain her demeanor at the moment. Maybe that was for the best.

A blur of petals and a red cloak appeared over her, Silver eyes glanced down into hers, wide and shaking as they scanned her body.

Raven didn't mind, but she knew that look, she had seen it before, it was a look of disbelief, she had seen it on Summer's face before, and on her brother. She had seen it dozens of times. Looks from Summer or Qrow for each new excuse to stay away from Taiyang and his perfect happy family. Each new excuse not to unintentionally risk breaking Yang's world in some way.

Maybe she should try to make a joke to lighten the mood? She wasn't good at those though… probably better just to try to pass on Lie and Valkyrie's message. It was a fight, and frankly, she had been trying to kill them, it would be unfair for her to blame them for doing the same. The fact that they didn't want to was something that should be pointed out.

"Lie…" Her voice came out weak and wet, it hurt to talk, every word making it fee like there was fire in her lungs. "He-" A burst of coughing interrupted her.

"Ren did this?" Ruby asked as she unbuckled her belt.

"Never mind that for now, we can talk more when you're better." Ruby said, plastering a smile on her face.

Dear Odin it looked like Summer's. The same fake, corny smile. Those silver eyes always gave it away, the worried wide eyed gaze, it looked so weird when placed with a big toothy grin.

Damn this wasn't working.

"They didn't-"

"We know their being controlled by Fenrir. Just worry about getting better." Ruby interrupted as she lifted Raven's crushed arm.

The arm dangled like it was made of dough, drooping as Ruby slid the belt under her arm, slipping it through the buckle.

"This'll hurt a bit, but you'll be fine." Ruby said.

Raven hissed, as Ruby tightened the belt as much as she could, cutting off the circulation to the rest of her arm.

"See? No problem." Ruby said, giving a small laugh.

"Fenrir… no…" Raven gurgled, causing Ruby to pause.

"Fenrir isn't controlling them?"

Raven tried to nod, but the pain shooting down her spine told her that would be a bad idea. The was Irony behind the fact that things hurt more when them not hurting would be useful.

Instead she blinked once. Ruby paled.

"Well, we'll have to cross that bridge won't we? You can tell us what happened once we fix you up."

" _Damnit Ruby! I'm not going to get better!"_ Raven thought. Not only that, but she had a feeling she was making things worse.

Ruby shuffled closer.

"Raven, I need to see how much damage was done to your side, so I might need to remove some clothes."

Well, that was to be expected. How could she check how bad a crushing blow was, when she couldn't see it? Raven averted her eyes, doing anything to make this less awkward for the girl.

Ruby reached over and lifted part of Raven's yukata. The intake of breath told her it was bad, probably black and blue. Raven looked at Ruby once more. Ruby's eyes were massive circles, her jaw hung open.

That bad huh? Not surprising. Raven wondered when she would lose consciousness. When would the world fade to black one last time? If it looked that bad, to Ruby, well, there wasn't much she could do was there?

Odd, she didn't feel helpless, more resigned. It amused her, she had refused to give up, fought as hard as she could, and now, here she was, broken beyond repair, and she didn't feel any anger, just a deep sense of shame.

"Yang! Hurry!" Ruby shouted into the forest.

Oh that was lovely, Yang was coming. What would she say to her daughter? She doubted she could get out more than a few words. It would have to be something meaningful, some small part of wisdom for her to impart on her estranged daughter. But what? Something about family would be good, but what did she know about family? She had used duty as an excuse to leave. No, anything about family would sound hollow.

How about determination? The struggle that life was? No, Yang already knew that. She had suffered more than Raven, lost family and friends throughout her life. Yang knew the value of digging your heels in and fighting already.

Damn, Yang probably was wiser than her.

Well that put a wet blanket on imparting wisdom. It would have to be something else. Maybe urge Yang on? Urge her to keep fighting? But what would her words, Raven Branwen's, mean to Yang? She hadn't been a mother, she hadn't been a mentor, she sure as hell wasn't a role model. The most impactful thing she did was show Yang what  _not_  to do.

Damn she really sucked as a human being. No mother of the year awards for her, those went to Summer.

Raven chuckled at that, but it came out as more of a bloody gurgle.

"Hold on Raven, you'll be fine! Yang's coming, she'll be able to help!" Ruby said, "Yang! Hurry up! I need help!"

Ruby just needed help? Doubtful. Yang was a wonderful person, and a powerful fighter, but no miracle worker; and that is what Raven surviving would take.

Raven supposed that Yang was much like Taiyang in that way, loving and strong. It was good to see Yang take after Taiyang.

Raven never thought she would think that. First she was mortally wounded by two gods who were each objectively weaker than her, and then she was proud someone wasn't like her. Wonders were coming out of the woodwork today.

"What's going on Ruby?" Yin's voice shouted over the clearing.

"Raven! She's hurt bad!"

The pounding of two sets of feet came ever closer. So they were all here were they? Well, not much of a surprise.

Lilac eyes met hers, oddly full of concern. Blond hair trailed down covering Raven's face in shadow. Yin broke the stare, turning to Ruby.

"What happened?"

"Ren and Nora attacked her!"

"Damn Fenrir!"

"No! She says that they aren't under her control!"

"They did it of their own free will?"

 _Well, I_ _'ve screwed this up very badly haven't I?_ Raven thought as the voices became more distant. She had really messed this up, but that was her life she supposed. She messed up just about everything, and had done a piss-poor, too little too late job of picking up the pieces.

"Blake get the med kit!"

"Yang… look." Blake said, pointing at something Raven couldn't see.

"Never mind that! Just do it!" Yin demanded, Her eyes once again connected with raven's. "Raven, you're going to be fine, you hear me? You have a ton of explaining to do and you are not going anywhere until you tell me everything!"

Ah, that was amusing. And very much like Raven. Raven thought she would likely say the same thing if someone she cared about was in her position. It was stupid, you couldn't order a dying person not to die. That was what dying was, The change of living to dead. It was a journey that everyone went through. Some faster than others.

Shit, things were getting blurry, more like faded smudges of color than any actual shapes. That couldn't be a good sign. She should say something, something important, something meaningful.

Raven felt hair trail her finger tips as Yin reached over to snatch the medical kit from Blake's hands. Raven wrapped her hand, her good hand, around a few strands and tugged. Yang would be pissed; Not that she would be around to suffer the consequences with a punctured lung. To use a term from Midgard, Raven had screwed the pooch with this one.

Yin looked down, crimson had replaced lilac. It was actually kind of scary,that tugging someone's hair could do that to their eyes. Raven smiled, Yin looked a little bit like her with the crimson eyes. But they did not go with her blond hair. Raven decided she preferred the lilac. She would have liked to see those eyes more, talked with Yin more, seen her grow more. Raven wished she had been a better role-model, been a mother, been someone Yin could say "I want to be like" That would have been…

Well it would have been boring, but nice every once and awhile.

" _Oh look at her now. Maternal instincts showing up? Where were they a century ago?"_ Raven wondered. Whoever said better late than never really didn't get what they were talking about. This sucked.

Ah, the regrets were starting to pile on again. That only happened when she had either had way too much to drink, or was very close to dead. This was certainly the latter, she wasn't stupid enough to drink before a fight. That had been Qrow's thing, and everyone knew how that turned out.

Well now or never she supposed. She opened her mouth, ignoring the spike of pain that coursed through her chest as she inhaled.

"Sorry. Sorry Yang." Raven said.

She heard the warbled gasp, distant and no louder than a whisper. And just like that she had just made her daughter cry.

Damn, there were far better ways to go. Not to mention the line was corny as hell. Could she redo that? Crying was the worst, she hated seeing people cry, she was a sucker for tears.


	63. Farewell Forevermore

"Sorry, Sorry Yang." Raven uttered. Her eyes rapidly losing focus as she spoke.

Yin's throat tightened. This was not going to be goodbye! Raven hadn't earned her forgiveness yet! Not by a long shot! Odin's assassin wasn't going to die here!

Yin grabbed her mother's shoulders, "You don't get to say that!" She yelled.

Yin felt a hand grip her shoulder. The grip squeezed nails biting at skin. She turned, her eyes meeting a pair of crimson ones. Her first instinct was to recoil, the eyes were too similar to those of a grimm. But the concern she saw in them caused her to hesitate.

"Stop that Yang." Belladonna said. Her voice was steady, firm as she leaned close. "Let Ruby do what she can. There's nothing you can do to help her right now."

Yin's shoulders slumped. She leaned back,sitting on her knees as she watched Ruby tap her mothers bloody and bruised flesh.

"We need to move her. The fire is going to make things troublesome if we don't" Ruby said, casting a glance over at some of the burning branches.

The fire was spreading quickly and it would inevitably would pick up pace. The branches littering the clearing were excellent fuel. The air was becomign clouded with smoke, soon, it would be difficult to breathe let alone navigate their way out of thw forest.

"Raven can't be moved in this condition. She'll die from her injuries" Belladonna pointed out.

"We can't leave her here! She'll die." Yin said, a scowl on her face.

Ruby glanced back and forth between the two. Back and forth.

Belladonna turned to Ruby, "what should we do?"

Ruby felt the eyes on her. Lilac and red, looking to her for orders. She looked down at Raven. Raven's breathing was erratic and shallow. Blood glistened on her lips. Her eyes were unfocused. She certainly was horrifically injured, possibly in shock. Moving her was out of the question, even if they could make a stretcher, carrying Raven would slow them down.

Ruby glanced at Yin, whose eyes flicked down to watch Raven. Anger mixed with concern.

"She has answers to what happened." Yin urged.

Ruby closed her eyes, the pit in her stomach growing as she took a deep breath. Gods she hated this.

"We're leaving."

* * *

 

"Damnit." Lie whispered as he stumbled through the forest, one arm over Valkyrie's shoulder. He leaned on her. More than once he slipped on a branch or root, only to be saved from toppling over by Valkyrie's iron grip.

With them fleeing a quickly as they could, and his aura running dangerously close to empty, his wound had reopened somewhat, dripping blood on the ground. Valkyrie had refused to stop to try to cover the trail, her good eye barely ever straying from the path before them. Her jaw was set, her lips a thin line as she trudged through underbrush, supporting more of his weight than he did himself.

Lie's head lolled from side to side as he struggled to continue to put one foot in front of the other. His vision blurred, and the ground felt as if he was walking across a slope. How long had they walked? It felt like only a few moments, but it could have been hours.

"Come on Ren, just stay awake. Pretty easy to do." Valkyrie said, her voice warbled as she tried to infuse it with cheer.

He could almost smile at that. He tried to, but his face felt heavy. Must have been from blood loss. It was a bit of a surprise his body hadn't gone into shock. His aura was still intact, but at this point he was, as the Midgard saying went, running on fumes.

"You usually… do that… for me." He said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Well you need to do it this time. You can still see out of both eyes!"

He glanced up at her, a small smile on her face, mostly teeth, and more clenched than anything else. The bloody mess that coated half her face stopped him from seeing her other eye. Probably for the best, given that he half expected even himself let alone Valkyrie to tear up the minute they had a moment to rest.

He looked down at his feet.  _One in front of the next, just keep doing that._   _Left, right, left then right._  He thought. Ordering his feet to do what he once was able to do unconsciously.

"How did it come to this?" He asked. Cursing as he heard the words come out of his mouth.

"I don't know. Everything went wrong." Valkyrie responded, hoisting him a little higher and holding him a bit tighter. As much for her sake as his.

"Forest is thinning out though, we should be able to call Weiss now." She said, glancing at her partner and friend. His breathing quiet and his eyes closed. He seemed at peace, if a little disappointed.

"Ren?" She asked when she got no reply.

"Ren?"

* * *

 

Qrow Branwen was in Vale's downtown marketplace. Recently declared safe, people had begun to trickle back in, ordering food and drinks from whatever storefronts still stood. Broken windows had yet to be repaired, and some doors still hung ajar. Nonetheless, something resembling normalcy had returned to Vale. Beacon was still cordoned off, used as something of a funnel for Grimm, but with the death of that dragon, slowly but surely, Atlesian and Vale forces were clearing sections of the academy's surroundings. The Council had reported that beacon could reopen as soon as next year, assumings students wanted to return of course.

And yet all of that was irrelevant compared to the god sitting across from most the man and Qrow could be assumed to be identical twins. But their expressions were polar opposite. Qrow's two companions Glynda Goodwitch and Raven Branwen, also looked at the Vytalian god. Confusion mixed with curiosity, none quite certain what had upset the god.

The guardian of Vytal stared at his coffee. His eyes dull as he held a teaspoon, the sugar cube that it once held having tumbled onto the floor.

Qrow leaned over to Glynda, "What's going on with him?" He whispered.

Glynda shrugged as she watched the other Qrow Branwen, god of Vytal.

It had happened so fast none of them knew quite what to do. One moment the two Qrows had been trading barbs and jokes. And then suddenly, the Vytalian Qrow grew pale. Pausing mid sentence as he stared at his coffee. For a minute they had sat in silence. Unsure of exactly how to respond.

"What happened?" Raven eventually asked, breaking the silence.

"Raven's dead." He said.

He looked up, staring at Qrow then Glynda and Raven in turn. He rested the teaspoon on the table before slumping back, his arms limp at his side as he stared at the ceiling. His mouth tightened as his breathing became heavy.

"My sister," he said, voice warbling, "my sister is dead."

* * *

 

"No!" Yin shouted.

"I can't stop internal bleeding! I don't even know how bad the damage is!" Ruby yelled back. Her eyes wide as her hands balled into fists.

"Yang, I don't like it but Ruby has a point." Belladonna added

"Shut up!" Yin snarled. She strode over to Raven and lifted the woman in a bridal carry.

"She has answers we need!"

"We don't have time for this. The fire is spreading." Ruby said

"We are not going to abandon someone! The old Ruby, the good Ruby would have understood that!"

Ruby's face warped from anger to open mouthed surprise. Her eyes wide. Before they narrowed again.

"Fine. You want to ignore more decisions? Then you carry the consequences."

She turned walking away from the fire.

"We'll meet up with Jaune, grab the essentials from camp, and leave the rest. Then we'll contact Ironwood and see if he had anything new regarding Pyrrha."

She pushed off, vanishing in a cloud of petals.

"Fine." Yin responded.

Belladonna gave her a look. A frown marring her features.

"What's wrong with you?" Yin spat, "You don't have to carry her."

"We'll talk once you've calmed down." Belladonna said, rushing off herself.

"Yeah, right." Yin muttered as she broke into a jog, Raven bouncing slightly in her grasp.

The goddess breathed erratically, her chest barely rising even as Yin sprinted through the forest, doing her best to keep pace with Ruby and Belladonna. The camp sped by them in a blur, Jaune standing in the center, eyes widening as he saw Yin carrying Raven. He asked no questions, instead hurrying to shove what he could into bags. Ruby tossed a duffel to Belladonna, lifted two herself and they were off again, the crackling of burning wood echoing behind them.

Yin began to lag behind her legs burning as she pushed them to move faster, propel her farther. Her shoulders burned from the weight of carrying Raven, as well as the constant shifting to make sure Raven felt the impacts as little as possible.

" _I will get you out of this, I will get answers."_

It was ironic Yin thought, that years ago, she would have left Raven for the wolves without a second thought. But then her father had died, and Raven tried to reconcile, to explain her position. Yin had never accepted duty as a valid reason to abandon a child or lover, but had come to understand that Raven and She had different priorities, different values. Eventually Yin had come to accept that in Raven's mind Vytal trumped everything, even family.

Branches and the crunching of wood gave way to bright sun and grassy plains. Rolling hills meeting a cloudy blue sky spread out before them. Yin couldn't help but smile, without the pressure of the fire, They could concentrate on treating Raven.

"Keep going! We're still too close!" Ruby shouted, bounding down a hill and leaping over a small ditch. Belladonna, Arc and Yin followed. Yin glanced down at the woman in her arms, bouncing lamely. Bile rose in Yin's throat as she broke into a sprint. She turned to see her sister standing on the hill ahead of them, and rushed after her.

Belladonna reached the hill first and turned to face Yin, who followed closely behind. Yin came to a stop beside her, and quickly lowered Raven to the ground. Belladonna helped, giving what support she could to Raven's back.

Ruby walked over, and Yin turned to her, wide lilac eyes looking up as if an angel had just descended from heaven.

Ruby knelt reaching two fingers out to touch the side of Raven's neck, while her other hand was held less than an inch above Raven's face.

Jaune paced, eyes prowling the nearby range. He remained silent, and at a distance, leaving the members of RWBY to themselves.

Ruby closed her eyes and counted to ten. Trying to arrange her thoughts.

"Well? Help her!" Yin demanded. "Stop sitting there and doing nothing!" Her voice was becoming shrill. Ruby ignored her sister, instead turning to Belladonna, the quiet communication and widened eyes told Ruby her meaning had gotten across. Belladonna's eyes snapped to Yin. The look did not go unnoticed, and Yin eyebrows furrowed as her scowl deepened. The look didn't last long as Yin cast her gaze back upon Ruby.

Slowly Ruby shook her head.

"I'm sorry Yang."

Yin remained kneeling for a few moments, she nodded, gently at first and then more sharply. She stood, running her hands through her hair.

"Damnit." She muttered as she turned.

Ruby went to stand, to comfort her sister somehow, but was stopped by a hand gently resting on her shoulder. She looked to Belladonna, who shook her head.

She was probably right, Ruby didn't know how to help, Losing their father had been a pain the could share, that they both understood. But Yin had just lost her mother. Ruby couldn't understand that. And rushing in would only make things worse.

"I think I need to be alone now." Yin said a shuddering breath leaving her body, her shoulders stiff and her hands balled into fists.

"We understand. Take all the time you need." Belladonna said soothingly.

Yin gave a tight nod, the rustling of her hair the only indication she had even moved her head.

She took one step, and then another, and soon she was sprinting down the other side of the hill. Away from the forest, away from her teammates, away from her mother's cooling corpse.

"I can keep an eye on her if you want." Arc offered, approaching Ruby and Belladonna.

"She'll be fine on her own. She needs time. She needs to process what happened." Belladonna said, rising as her eyes trailed her partner.

Arc rubbed the back of his head. He cast his gaze down on Raven, his lips tightended toa thin line before he forced hismelf to look away.

"Yang's mother was just killed. Is it odd that I don't feel angry?" He asked. Belladonna shrugged. Arc rubbed hsi head and turned back to look at Yin, who was heaidng over teh crest of another nearby hill.

"You will." Ruby said quietly. Arc turned, looking at her as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Why is that Ruby?" he asked cautiously.

"Because Nora and Ren killed Raven. And according to her, they weren't under Fenrir's control."

* * *

 

Yang didn't travel far, just enough that Ruby and the others were blocked by a hill. She rubbed her head, letting out a groan as she sat on the grassy field.

The rolling hills stretched to the horizon, meeting the bright blue sky in a scene out of a painting. Most would have called it the perfect place to think, and Yin probably would have agreed if not for her mother's corpse, a massive forest fire, and the fact that a betrayal by two of her closest friends was still swirling in her mind.

She wondered why the tears hadn't come, Her mother was dead, and all the effort she had put into saving Raven had been wasted. Now, their camp was little more than ash, friendships broken, and for the time being, their plan to find Pyrrha had been completely derailed.

" _Things couldn't have gone much worse."_ She mused as she leaned back. What Ren and Nora had done, the fact that they had done it, was unforgivable. They had sided with Fenrir and had betrayed everyone they had ever known.

"So why don't I feel angry?" She mused her eyes on a cloud that drifted by.

It was odd, and maybe it spoke volumes about how distant she and Raven were, that she found they idea of Ren and Nora truly betraying them much worse than the fact that her mother was dead.

When Raven had been dying, she had felt pure rage, but now that she was dead, she felt close to nothing, was she just numb. Would the tears come later? Would they come at all?

"I wish Summer was here." She muttered as she leaned forward, bringing one knee to her chest. She gave a small sigh. Perhaps if she waited here for a bit, something would fall into place, and she would understand what she was feeling.

Footsteps came from her left, just out of view.

"Leave me alone, I'm not interested in talking." Yin said.

"Tough luck blondie."

Yin turned, her eyes red and a scowl growing on her face. As she took in the figure to her side.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Emerald, and Salem wants to talk."

Yin gave the green haired woman a closer look. She was armed, but didn't appear to be much of a threat. Yin tensed, well aware looks could be deceiving. Emerald smiled smugly, her hand on her hips as she gave Yin an appraising look; apparently pleased with the blonds discomfort.

"Salem? You mean the pale woman?" Yin asked, breaking the brief silence.

"Pale, white hair, red eyes. Yeah, her. She's my boss and she wants to talk."

"Not interested."

"She knows where Pyrrha is, they're probably having a chat right now." Emerald pressed, taking another step closer to Yin.

Yin glared at Emerald.

"Liar."

Emerald sighed raising her hands in mock defeat.

"Fine, but don't blame me if you disappoint Pyrrha and Weiss. They're both expecting you."

In a flash Yin stood, a few quick steps and a fistful of collar dragged Emerald within inches of Yin's face.

"Talk now."

Emerald smiled pointing over the hill towards the others.

"Be happy to. Just make sure its a group chat. I don't want to repeat all this crap twice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that ends the Raven section. We'll be heading back to Summer for several chapters, starting next chapter.
> 
> For those interested, Raven's death was originally planned to happen much earlier, closer to chapter 30, but Hirshja wisely pointed out that her death would have no significance so it was pushed back, thus came a few new story threads like Asgard to develop her character more.
> 
> The past few chapters were incredibly hard to write, I just couldn't get it quite right! After I finish the story I will come back and look over this again.
> 
> Credit also goes to a friend of mine who is an author over on AO3 for tons of advice on writing character deaths.
> 
> As always, advice and opinions are appreciated (seriously, first time killing off a major character, how'd I do?), and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> Have a great week!
> 
> Deamonhunter


	64. A Rose's Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I haven't posted this chapter to AO3 yet. Apologies!

Winter looked out onto the harbor. The river that flowed through the center of Vytal was littered with harbors, quick and easy transport within the city center, anything from further out was transported by airship.

She had always liked looking out onto the river. It was slow and lazy, in stark contrast to the buzz of the harbor right next to it. People rustled against each other, mingling and blending like small bubbles in a pot of boiling water. The imagery was a lovely example of the contrast between how the Intelligence division and the Guardians were seen. The Guardians were fast, always acting. They were doing things, while the intelligence moved slowly, languidly gathering all the secrets in their path as they moved.

Today, that imagery would have been seen as inaccurate.

It had been so for the last three days.

"We're all worried Winter, but you still need sleep." Cinder chided as she reached for a glass of water.

She reclined on a stuffed lounge chair, one she had specifically had brought in.

Winters fingers curled into a fist as she ground her teeth, staring intently as the crowd hummed with life below. The rush today was not the normal array of messengers and fishmongers. Instead it was the entirety of Vytal's Intelligence, they were being used as couriers on behest of Zeus, that bastard.

"He comes in, claims he's been tasked with commanding the Guardians and then demands I give him command here, in front of my own people."

"An elephant is more subtle." Cinder agreed, walking over and placing a glass of water before Winter.

"And when I refuse he goes on a rant before hauling out a damn order from Ozpin."

"Galling, I know." Cinder said, returning to her chair

She leaned back, smoothing her dress as she sat before Winter's gaze fell to Winter's hand, balled into a fist, her knuckles as white as the snow of the Schnee crest.

"You've thought of nothing else the past few days." She said leaning forward

"How did Ozpin  _know_?" Winter muttered.

Cinder paused.

"That's what's bothering you? Not that Zeus is a pigheaded imbecile who would use your intelligence reports to wipe his ass? But that Ozpin somehow knew you were up to something?"

"We established Zeus'…" She paused, trying to think of a polite word, but shook her head, he didn't deserve the effort, "idiocy years ago, it was why he was never seriously considered for command."

"Until now."

Winter nodded.

"It's unusual, Ozpin only let him be promoted because Zeus had connections, but he never put him in a position of command. Then suddenly he's assigned de-facto command of Vytal's army?"

Cinder smiled, it looked as if Winter was going off on a new tangent, best to keep it going.

"It's as if Ozpin wants to sow confusion. Most of the Guardians aren't even obeying his orders, they can't believe he's in charge." Cinder said

"Summer's hate for him is well known, especially by the Guardians." Winter supplied without a thought. Frankly if Zeus was angry that he was being disobeyed, let him. The guardians saw his punishments for disobedience as marks of pride.

"Which brings us back to her." Cinder said.

Winter's visage darkened.

"She's still alive." Winter insisted.

"Why isn't she back yet?"

"Perhaps the portal did not work as anticipated." Winter said.

"That would be unfortunate." Cinder said glancing at the walls with unease.

"I did not mean it in that way." Winter said, finally turning to face Cinder. The portal grenades have never been used in Valhalla, perhaps something there sent her to a different world."

"In which case, Zeus will have cemented his position by the time she gets back."

"And Ozpin will have sidelined all of us." Winter muttered bitterly

"Ozpin doesn't need to sideline us, only make it clear who is in power." Cinder said. "Image is everything. Cow us and he's removed Summer as a threat."

Winter turned to say something, only to be interrupted by a knock on her door. It was uneven and hurried, an odd combination for someone from the intelligence division.

"Yes?"

"Former Head-Commander Rose has appeared at the outskirts of the City proper, Interim Commander Nikos has belayed orders to have her air-lifted. Orders?" The messenger reported the words dulled by the door between them.

Winter grinned, muffled as the words had been by the door, it was clear what had happened. She stood, the gears of her mind beginning to turn as she stepped towards the door.

"Don't aggravate the situation. Zeus will already be furious." Cinder warned as Winter passed, a grin teasing its way onto Cinder's face. The raven-haired goddess wondered what would happen if Winter were to act. Would Zeus come in swinging his sword? She hoped so, then she would be able to roast him alive.

Winter did not respond, instead she opened the door before her.

The messenger was a small man, thin and sickly. He was panting, indicative of a long run, or sprint. Winter supposed that explained the uneven knock.

"Check for bullheads in the skies, if they're Guardian Bullheads, try to patch me in, if not, keep an eye on them."

The messenger nodded, bouncing on one foot like a twisted band waiting to be loosed.

"Go now." Winter said, finally realizing the man was waiting for her dismissal of him. He nodded quickly and He was off like a flash. The sound of footsteps pounded as he went to down the back stairwell rather than take the glass elevator.

The door closed silently as Winter headed back to her desk, she slumped back down in it sighing as she rubbed her temples.

"It doesn't look like you're celebrating."

"That would be because I'm not." Winter replied.

Cinder cocked an eyebrow, her playful smirk vanishing moments later.

"I'm readying myself for a confrontation."

"We'll find out what Ozpin is doing, and assuming it is criminal, send the man to prison." Cinder promised.

"Or we get executed on trumped up charges and Ozpin finally rules completely unquestioned."

She leaned back sighing as she glanced down at the river.

"I remember when this was just about him using Mjlonir," she said ruefully, "now it's growing into something else."

Cinder stood resting a hand on Winter's shoulder.

"Perhaps, but everything starts small. We can't predict the future after all."

She let her hand fall to her side.

"I for one intend to greet Summer outside. How about you?"

"I think I'll get some work done. Give her my best if I'm busy, She'll understand."

Cinder nodded, the door closing behind her silently as it slid back in place.

Winter looked out at the the river again, she tried to etch every curve, every building into her mind. Depending on Ozpin, soon, she might never see the sun again.

* * *

It didn't take long for Cinder to find Summer. Frankly, it was the easiest thing she had done in days. All she needed to do was follow the shouts.

The roadways were thick with people, pushing and shoving themselves to get a closer look at the worn woman who once led Vytal's main military force. Cinder pushed herself forward, at first politely, a pat on the shoulder, and a gentle excuse. But against the throng of people, her patience quickly began to wane.

Gently taps slowly became hard shoves as the throng of people tightened, and her eyes became steely as she snarled when people tried to push her in turn. She ignored the shouts and curses of others, they were irrelevant. Peons pushing forward to gawk at a woman who had seen more than most of them could ever imagine.

And then, one more shove, another person out of the way, and Summer Rose came into view.

Cinder had expected her to be badly injured, a limp perhaps, to explain the delay in her return. Instead, summer looked worn. Bags hung under her eyes as she walked forward at an irregular speed. She paused casting a look at her surroundings, as if the ground herself, before continuing.

Cinder pushed forward.

"Move!" She demanded of a large man in front of her. He turned, his glower vanish moments after laying eyes on her. He backed away, shoving others behind him as he made way for her.

Internally cinder smiled, it was pleasant when people obeyed quickly.

Few others even tried to get in her way, and those that did she shoved without hesitation.

"Summer!" She shouted as loudly as she could, waving a hand above her head.

Summer's gaze whipped around as she halted, scanning the throng for the source of the noise.

"Summer!" Cinder shouted again, breaking through the last of the crowd.

"Cinder?" Summer asked.

Cinder nodded as she got close, a small smile on her face.

"You're late." She said.

Summer gave a weak laugh.

"Winter will be angry."

"She's worried sick. Let's get you back." Cinder replied, wrapping and arm around Summer,

"you look like you could fall asleep at any moment."

"I probably could." Summer said.

Cinder hoisted her further up, Summer allowed her weight to rest on the taller woman's shoulder.

"Let's get you to Winter then." She said, walking forward as quickly as she dared. Summer kept apace, but not without effort. Whatever had happened in Valhalla had evidently drained the woman. Summer blinked several times, as if trying to keep herself awake. A stifled yawn made Cinder think that was very likely the case. How long had she been awake? All three days? It wasn't impossible, she had heard of guardians doing that before, chasing a weakened foe over vast distances. But what would have forced Summer to remain alert for so long. She didn't know.

As they continued their walk, the crowd parting before them, summer's walking speed seemed to increase, the slow shuffle becoming a lazy gait and slowly nearing something more akin to a casual stride.

Cinder watched suspiciously, uncertain what could cause such a dramatic change. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't rest. She became more certain, the faster Summer walked, that whatever had drained the woman was not a lack of rest, at least, not entirely.

As the glass and steel building that was Winter's headquarters came into view, cinder turned to summer. The bags under her eyes had faded, and she was moving under her own power, hardly resting any weight on Cinder at all.

"What happened Summer?" Cinder asked in a hushed whisper.

Summer frowned. "I'll explain inside. But we need to meet with Winter.

Cinder nodded, she didn't need to be told that this was urgent, and if they barged in on a classified meeting, Winter would forgive them.

Probably.

* * *

Winter fortunately enough, was still staring out the window of her office. She turned as she heard the door open, eyes widening as she took in Summer's form.

She stood quickly, rubbing her head as she noticed the pile of reports that had not been there when Cinder had left, who had left them? She didn't know and frankly didn't care.

"Thank goodness you're fine." She said.

Summer slumped into a chair, Cinder easing her down before sitting in another.

"Not quite fine. But close enough." Summer said, "I was a hell of a lot worse half an hour ago."

"She looked half dead, and certainly beyond the point of exhaustion." Cinder added with a nod.

Winter's eyes flicked back and forth between the two goddesses in front of her.

"Well, you certainly don't look that way now. Do you need rest? Or can you answer a few questions?"

Summer nodded. "I can do more than that. I know Ozpin's plan."

This caught the others' attention. Cinder stared at Summer.

"I doubt he was so careless as to just lay it out before you." Winter said wryly, "and since Zeus has usurped you position, You didn't get the answers out of him."

The flash of anger came and vanished from Summer's face. Winter doubted anyone else would have noticed it. She filed it away. It was unsurprising, but she needed to keep things between the various power players in Vytal, of whom Summer and now Zeus, could certainly be considered among, from ending violently. The last thing anybody wanted was a fight, especially one Ozpin could conceivably use to hide his movements.

"I ended up in Niflheim when I tried to get back. I ran into Hel."

"The Aesir? Loki's daughter? She's been missing for years. We checked her palace in Niflheim. She wasn't there." Winter said.

"She lives in a little house now. You probably wouldn't find it if you didn't know where to look." Summer replied.

"And what did Hel tell you?"

"Ozpin is trying to destroy Yggdrasil."

The shocked silence that followed was only broken by the ringing of Winter's scroll.

She answered it quickly. A muttered greeting a few quick nods and a sigh before she lowered it again. She turned her eyes falling to the pile of files on her desk. It couldn't be could it? She would have to get the entire room searched now. If Ozpin was listening in on her conversations…

"Well. Who was that?" Cinder asked.

"Ozpin, he asked to see you Summer."

Summer laughed.

"No rest for the weary eh?" She said.

"We can come with you." Cinder offered.

Summer shook her head.

"And let everyone who knows what Ozpin is planning walk into the lion's den? No way."

Winter nodded. "Summer is right. Only we know what Ozpin is planning, if push came to shove do you really think Ozpin would hesitate to kill us?"

Cinder's sigh was all the admission Winter needed.

Winter turned to summer once again. Walking to the files as she did so.

"Go, we can talk later."

"We should-"

"Talk later." Winter interrupted, her voice firm. She picked up a file and steadily flicked through it, looking for a glint of anything other than plain paper.

"We will arrange a rendezvous after your meeting with Ozpin. Try to get your position back if you can. I'm afraid we'll have a mutiny otherwise."

"Right."

"Meanwhile Cinder." Winter said, Lifting several files and dumping them in Cinder's lap, ignoring the stunned squawk that came form the woman, "we'll be working on organizing these files."

An indignant stare from Cinder told Winter that Cinder did not agree. But after a few moments she relented with a groan.

Summer nodded, standing and drawing her weapon, giving it a quick look.

"Be careful will you?" She asked.

Summer nodded, a mischievous smile on her face.

"When am I not?" She asked.

Cinder chuckled at that, silenced only when Winter dropped more files in her lap. Winter looked as Summer left, the door sliding shut behind her white cloak.

Winter looked down at the files, no time to worry about a woman who could take care of herself, she had a potential mole to catch.


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to notes, we should be on Chapter 66, not 65. I'll look into that.

Ozpin.

The name was odd, it did not translate to anything as far as Summer was aware, and it attracted a certain amount of attention when the man had first appeared, and even more when he had been chosen to lead the gods.

The elevator doors slid open, and a familiar hall appeared before her. Cold steel gave way to warm hues and carpeted flooring. Lights in the likeness of Midgardian glass lamps hung from the walls, casting a warm light on the hallways itself.

The serenity was broken only by the gruff form of Zeus standing in the middle of the hallway. His broad from was stretched to its fullest, he had adorned himself with a large red cloak, that was pinned with a golden brooch in the shape of a lightening bolt.

Summer's eyes narrowed. She didn't have time for this  _thing_. This traitor.

He was worse than Ozpin. Because, beyond all the lies and deceit, Ozpin was certainly doing what he thought was in the best interests of the gods. Zeus on the other hand.

"Hello Ms Rose." Zeus said, his voice chipper as he grinned.

Summer walked forward she took three steps before Zeus spoke again.

"Impolite no? Not to greet the Head-Commander?"

Summer stopped in front of him, frowning as she saw no way to move forward with his bulk in the way. It wasn't like the corridor was narrow, she could see two people walking side by side with room to spare. He was just that big.

"Excuse me, I have a meeting to get to." Summer said, looking down the hall at Ozpin's doorway.

"No one sees the Lord-general without my say so." Zeus said, jutting a finger at himself.

"Under whose orders?" Summer asked, rolling her eyes.

"Mine." He said with a grin.

Summer grinned back. Perhaps now was the time to actually be impolite. She took a deep breath as she stood on her toes.

"Ozpin! I know you can hear me! Let's talk!"

Zeus roared as he shoved Summer back, She spun, unsheathing her bladed sickle. She swung up feeling the clanking of the chain as it slid from around her waist. Zeus reared back,clutching his hand. Fury burned in his eyes as he glared at Summer.

"You'll pay for that." He snarled, pulling out his sword. The rusted spatha did not shine in the lights, instead changing to a deeper red color. It was then that summer realized what had caused the rust on his blade.

The weight at the end of her weapon fell deftly into Summer's hand, she released it, grabbing the chain a foot behind, and started to spin the chime of metal echoing in the hall.

"Make me." She challenged back Releasing the weight.

The iron weight hurtled towards Zeus, who ducked out of the way. The groan of steel echoed as the weight smashed into a wall, spraying plaster as the steel underneath was revealed. Zeus reached up, grasping the chain with free hand and wrapped in around his wrist.

With a shout he pulled, hauling Summer towards him.

With Zeus's greater weight and strength Summer had no chance of resisting, if she tried at best she would lose her weapon. Instead she leapt forward pulling back the sickle.

Zeus's eyes widened as he saw the attack, he stepped to one side, slamming bodily into the wall. The sickle struck only air as summer spun. She pressed one foot to the floor as she kicked with her other. Her boot struck between Zeus's ribs. Earning a grunt and a wish of air as all the oxygen was forced from Zeus's lungs. He pulled down on the chair, dragging Summer closer to him. He thrust with his blade.

She =slid to one side, grabbing the chain and wrapping it around the weapon. With a yank it tumbled from Zeus's grasp.

She raised her sickle again, and swung, aiming for his eyes.

But Zeus was fast, his free hand came out and wrapped around her wrist, halting her momentum. He squeezed, his hand like a vice.

Summer spun closer to him, the heel of her foot connected with his head, whipping it to one side, but still he held on his grip ever tightening. Summer scowled, but kept up the momentum. Two knee strikes to the face and a fist to the jaw caused Zeus to stumble back, but he held his grasp on teh chain, tugging it with him.

A summer stumbled forward, he reared a fist, and threw it forward.

Summer dodged the strike, but felt the forearm slam into the back of her head.

" _Shit!"_ She thought as she felt Zeus knee force the air from her lungs as it slammed into her gut.

A hand wrapped around her cloak as she was swung into a wall. The grip eased only for another hand to wrap around her throat. She struggled kicking as the hand tightened. Her eyes fell to Zeus. His nose was bent at an awkward angle and blood flowed freely from his nostrils and cuts above his eyes.

"Die!" He howled pulling back a fist.

Summer concentrated her aura glowing in her fists. She pushed the aura into a jagged form, narrow and thin. It sputtered, as Zeus's fist slammed into her face, bones cracking and blod flowing from the strike. Zeus pulled his fist back for another blow just as Summer slammed down with both hands onto Zeus's arm.

The aura was weak, and the strike didn't cut so much as dig into his arm. Nonetheless his grip eased. He howled as Summers slammed down with both fists again. Releasing Zeus grip as his arm spasmed.

She scrambled away. Spinning to face Zeus only when she felt she had gotten some distance.

Their positions were reversed now, with her facing the elevator.

The hallways was destroyed, plaster and broken glass littering a carpet now covered in blood. The walls were dented and bit of steel showed through the plaster walling.

"You and Raven," Zeus said chuckling, "you two always did have some fun manipulating aura."

He glared at her, balling his hands into fists. "But you never did realize how important raw strength was."

A bell tolled behind them, the steel doors of the elevator opening.

"Any last words?" He threatened.

Summer grinned. "Got past you didn't I?"

Zeus paused, letting that sink in as his face contorted.

"Die!" He roared.

He burst forward, only to be halted by golden light binding his limbs.

Summer almost grinned, a week ago she would have.

The golden light flowed from the Lord-General of Vytal, almost as if they were extra limbs. He walked forward quietly, his eyes flitting between the two as he came to a halt beside Zeus.

"Ms. Rose is not the only one who knows a thing about aura manipulation." Ozpin said calmly.

He glanced at Zeus ruefully, shaking his head as he then turned to Summer.

"I go out for a walk and what do you I hear?"

"Yggdrasil is getting better?"

That elicited a small smile and a gentle shake of Ozpin's head.

"I hear you have returned, and are on your way to see me." Ozpin said, releasing Zeus, who fell with a thud.

"But it seems Mr. Nikos heard so as well."

"Not Head-Commander Nikos?" Summer asked.

"Evidently not." Ozpin replied with a glance at the god slumped in the ground. He turned back to Summer.

"I think we have much to discuss. I presume Hel gave you all the relevant details."

Summer nodded, "I presume she told you my answer?"

Ozpin sighed slouching slightly. "She did tell me, unfortunate really, but I hope we can at least come to a understanding that keeps this civil."

"I'm not sure how civil destroying the universe is." Summer said.

Ozpin shrugged, straightening as he walked to his office door and opened it. Ushering Summer inside.

"More civil than you would think."

Summer picked up her weapon.

"I'm not leaving this."

Ozpin smiled, again directing her to enter. She walked through quietly. Ozpin went to follow, but paused, his gaze once again falling to Zeus.

"And you will return to the Guardians Barracks and await  _orders_. You've shown a troubling lack of restraint." His eyes glowed gold for just a second, "I must rectify that."

Zeus paled. Ozpin did not wait for a reply, closing the door behind him as he entered his office.

"Why does he follow you?" Summer asked.

Ozpin smiled, "the simple things, power, prestige." He said as he sat in his chair.

"I did promise him Mjolnir, so I presume he will try to use it for revenge later on." He added as he glanced at the mug on the table, scowling as he found it empty.

"But only great gods can lift it."

"There are some very specific exceptions, but on the whole, that is correct." Ozpin said, his hands resting in front of him.

"Now, what can I do for you Summer Rose?" he asked

"I want my position as Head-Commander of the Guardians back."

"And why would I do that?" Ozpin asked leaning back in his chair, "You have already confirmed that you are opposing me, And the guardians are far too loyal to you for my comfort. why would I want you in a position where you leverage those advantages?"

"You need me somewhere I can't move freely. You need to keep an eye on me." Summer said leaning forward and planting her hands on the desk.

Ozpin smiled, leaning back in his chair.

"Do continue. I'm curious where this goes." He added.

"You already pointed out that they are far too loyal to me. Do you think If you appoint someone else they'll just lie and take it?"

"So you want me to allow you to take a position which you could use to lead a military coup because it pleases the people who would follow you in said coup?" Ozpin asked.

"You're not Thor are you?" Summer asked, trying to change the subject.

"Good deflection. No, I'm not."

"Who are you then?"

"Irrelevant to this conversation." Ozpin replied shutting down that line of conversation, "But I'm sure you can figure it out in time." He said with a smile.

"Now back to my question, why should I let you be Head-Commander?"

Summer gnawed her lip.

"Like I said, a great way to keep an eye on me."

"So is putting you in a cell."

"Hardly civil."

"Neither would a coup."

"I'm not planning a coup."

"No, but it is one very good option on how you would thwart me."

"Neither of us wants a panic." Summer said.

Ozpin laughed. It was cheerful, almost joyous, and so very odd for the tense atmosphere of the room.

"Yes, I suppose that is a valid point." He said, before his gaze hardened. He leaned on the desk, the laughter from before gone.

"I want to try one last time. Will you not join me? I know you want to stop the inevitable. But that is what it is, inevitable. And Fenrir threatens our very survival as well."

"My answer is the same."

"Even if I offer my position in the aftermath?"

"Lord-general?"

"Or whatever it will be called." He said waving one hand.

"The fact of the matter is I never intended to lead the Gods for this long, and certainly after what I am about to do, I do not deserve the position." He directed his hand at Summer. "But you, the guardians love you, the people respect you and no one would doubt your principles. This resistance is based on principles, correct?"

"We have a duty to defend-"

"The Mortals?" Ozpin interrupted, "Make no mistake Summer, we took the titles of gods, we did not earn them. We are mortals ourselves."

"But we took this duty-."

"I know Summer." Ozpin said sharply. "But the simple fact is Yggdrasil needs the Grimm to survive. And Odin tried to create a weapon to annihilate them all before, without caring about the consequences." His mood clearly darked as he looked downward,

"By the time a found out why he wanted Fenrir…" He shook his head.

He eyes hardened as he looked up.

"I have done terrible things to help the gods, and after all I've done, the monster I've become, I'll be damned if I let them die out now Summer."

"And I won't let the gods become monsters just to survive."

Ozpin sighed rubbing his eyes.

"Then I suppose we are on opposing sides. A tragedy, the things we could have done together…" He shook his head.

"But you won't stop."

"And you won't abandon your principles."

"You can't convince me to kill innocent people."

"And so you condemn them all to death. You cling to the idea that you can be a hero. Summer I've known many great heroes. The one thing I've learned from them is that they never succeed, they all die trying."

"Then I'll have to prove you wrong." Summer as she stood and went to leave.

"Wait, Summer there is something else you should know." Ozpin said.

Summer turned looking at him.

"A message came from Qrow today. It was brief, and is unconfirmed-"

"Get on with it."

"Raven Branwen died in the line of duty." Ozpin said looking at her. His stature faltered as he averted his gaze, lookin down at his desk, a small frown settling on his face.

Summer shivered, her legs felt like lead. She jerkily nodded once, then again. She left quickly, ignoring Zeus's form as she rushed out of the hall and down the elevator.

She needed a fucking drink.


	66. Sammensvergelse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I haven't been updating this at all! I apologize!
> 
> I'll be catching up mostly tomorrow after I've gotten some sleep. But here's the first chapter!

Silver eyes bolted awake as a sense of cold splashed over her face. She sputtered sitting bolt upright as she glanced around wildly, her eyes settled on ice blue eyes, narrowed in anger.

"You know," Winter said holding up an empty wine bottle and shaking it, "Most people have some of this with food."

Summer groaned, rubbing her eyes as the throbbing in her head grew stronger.

"If this is becoming a problem-"

"It;s not." Summer said rising and turning to sit upright. She rubbed her face before leaning back.

She was back at her apartment, barely furnished as it was, the stain from the smashed wine bottle still not yet scrubbed away. On the bedside table was a glass of half finished wine, and two more open bottles.

"Qrow-"

"Drank much more than this daily. It takes a lot to make me want to get into a drunken stupor."

Winter's expression changed.

"I presume you heard then."

Summer nodded. She stood waling over to the kitchen counter she turned on the faucet splashing the cold water on her face before leaning down to drink.

"How can you tolerate it?" Winter asked.

"Don't have much of a say in who dies." Summer said.

Winter quirked her head.

'Who died?"

Summer looked up. Winter expression almost made her laugh. Her eyes were wide, mouth slightly open in surprise. Clearly, the news that one of the most feared goddesses in Vytal had been killed had not yet spread much beyond Ozpin's office.

"Raven," Summer said, ignoring Winter's sudden breath, but also the pain in her own chest. Instead, she shuffled around for a can of ground coffee, perhaps a cup would ease the hangover.

"it's unverified but the report came from Qrow."

Winter placed a hand on the kitchen counter. "Summer, I'm…" She paused, clearly unused to trying comfort another. 'I'm sorry. I know how close you two were."

Summer shrugged, dumping ground coffee into a filter, and filling the coffee maker with water.

"I can grieve later." She said, reaching for a mug from the sink. She scowled as she saw the coffee stains inside and turned on the faucet, filling the mug with water before pouring it down the drain.

"Summer-"

Summer's grip on the mug tightened.

"We don't have time to grieve. Everyone is in danger. Ozpin wants to annihilate everything, save the gods."

Winter opened her mouth to object, but paused. With a huff she backed away from the counter as Summer nonchalantly poured herself a cup of coffee. She drank, scrunching her mouth at the bitter taste, before taking a heavy gulp. Ignoring the scalding, pin-like sensation as it washed over her tongue. She dropped the mug back into the sink, and shook her head to clear her thoughts. The throbbing pain in her head receded to a dull ache. Good enough for now.

"Now why did you pour water on my face to wake me? Surely you could have just shaken me awake."

"I tried that, it didn't work. Water seemed the next best thing."

Summer crossed her arms.

"Nevermind. Why did you wake me? What was so urgent."

Winter pulled a small folder out of her jacket and handed it to Summer.

"You have a new second-in-command."

Summer didn't even need to open the folder to know who it was, but she did so anyway.

The picture of Zeus was from when he was younger, his beard barely fuzz on his face, his red hair buzzed short. But the signature cocksure grin was the same.

Summer scowled.

"Are congratulations on your reappointment still in order?" Winter asked.

Summer threw the folder against the wall, papers fluttering through the air.

"Obviously not."

"That bastard!" Summer hissed, her hands balled into fists as her eyes searched for her weapon.

"Are you so surprised? He wants to keep an eye on you."

"I'll castrate him!"

Winter rolled her eyes at that.

"Anger doesn't suit you. And you know you will regret it." She warned as summer finally grabbed her weapon, and began to clumsily wrap the chain around her waist.

"Maybe, but better than working with a man who can't get over his own damn ego. He'll kill half my troops before he admits a mistake."

"Hardly, He'd kill all of them first." Winter said, frowning as summer sent her a deadly glare.

"I was joking." She said, hands raised in a placating gesture.

"But in all seriousness, Ozpin is on the move. We know his plan now we need to decide what to do."

"And what do you advise. There's no one who would even believe us."

"I disagree, but that is beside the point. Cinder has an idea."

It took all of two seconds of seeing the maps on the walls for Summer to shake her head.

Four maps of the city were on the walls, each clearly labeled and noted. White boards next to each map listed names of prominent gods. On the maps themselves, Targets were circled, estimated troop numbers in nearby barracks scrawled over them.

"How goes the planning?" Winter asked.

Cinder shrugged. "The only variable is Ozpin. We don;t know the full extent of his powers, but I think I have found a way around that."

Winter nodded, pointing to hand scrawled note on one of the maps. "Trap him in one of his meeting with Zeus. Two birds with one stone."

"Yes. As long as that works, everything should go well."

Summer approached one of the maps. "Phase one" was written in clean script in the upper left corner. She recognized the town center, and Ozpin's tower as two locations that were circled. Several names were listed only a few of which she knew personally, various Knight-Commanders mostly.

"Will we be able to keep things stable in the aftermath?"

"That's contingent on how many guardians remain loyal to Summer, but I doubt Zeus's treatment of the Guardians has harmed us in that regard."

Winter nodded.

"When can we initiate the plan?"

"A week?" Cinder guessed with a shrug. "the sooner the better, best not risk Zeus gaining any pull within the Guardians. If push comes to shove, we don't want divided loyalties."

Summer walked to the next map, titled Phase Two. It also had several targets circled, the communications tower was one of them, as was the locations of the gates to and from Vytal. Her eyes fell to the writing below the targeted communications tower.

"Summer Rose, speech?" She muttered. They expected her to take part in this?

Why wouldn't they? The greater good and all that. Surely that should be enough to have her abandon her principles; break her word to Ozpin to keep their conflict from overflowing into the rest of Vytal, to keep it in the shadows.

She trembled, a chill running up her spine as she looked at the white board next to the Phase Three map Strategies to quell discontent, or violent opposition, Even a list of names of whom to keep an eye on, or imprison.

"You are planning a coup." Summer muttered.

"Yes, with you back as commander of the Guardians, we've been given an opportunity to stop Ozpin here and now."

"I promised Ozpin I'd keep-"

Cinder waved her away with a laugh.

"You promised you would keep it quiet." But we made no such promise. As I see it, you will be reacting to a leadership vacuum. The fact that Ozpin ends up trapped in Valhalla, and Zeus ends up in prison is a bonus.

"How do you even plan to trap him? Hel can divert portals."

Cinder walked over, pointing to a picture taped to the wall.

"There are not many working portals in Asgard anymore. The only one left is near the main square. He always teleports nearby when he visits, likely so he can get back quickly. We'll scramble the destination and he'll end up stuck in the wilderness."

"After that we arrest Zeus on charges of murder. We k ow he killed those intelligence agents who were assigned to tail him. Without Ozpin's protection he can either resist arrest becoming a fugitive or surrender." Winter added as she approached. Her eyes steely as she roved over the maps.

"After that, you will take command, and order a state of emergency until such time that a new Lord general is chosen." Cinder continued, flashing Summer small smile. "Which knowing you, will be very soon."

Summer squirmed, bouncing from foot to foot. It seemed so simple, and got rid of their problems quickly and efficiently. In a week, the threat against Yggdrasil could be gone, Ozpin captured or killed whenever they wanted.

"It won't be that simple of course, and things could go wrong quickly. But without knowing Ozpin's exact plans, we have no guarantee this will succeed anyway." Winter said, "he didn't reveal anything to you at the meeting?"

Summer shook her head.

"No, but he wanted me to side with him, offered me his position after the destruction of Yggdrasil if I sided with him."

"He offered you the position of Lord-General?" Cinder asked quizzically.

"He seemed to think himself a monster unfit to lead after killing so many innocents."

Winter shook her head, "that makes him all the more dangerous then."

"He believes he is doing the right thing. He's convinced he is fighting for the greater good." She muttered.

"And that makes him capable of anything. Best not to underestimate him." Cinder advised.

Summer bit her lip, it was one thing to fight Ozpin. But a coup? It wasn't honest, it was something she imagined would come right out of Ozpin's head. And shouldn't that say something about the morality of what they were about to do?

Summer shook her head.

"This is wrong, It will drag dozens of innocent people who are simply being loyal. They shouldn't get hurt."

"And they won't." Winter assured her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"We are arresting them so that we can avoid a bloodbath."

Summer shifted, she glanced at her friend. Winter wore a smile, but it was plastic, forced. Summer could appreciate the gesture, a smile to try to ease her discomfort. Unfortunately it had the opposite affect.

"Summer," Cinder said quietly, "This is happening. With or without you. With you, there will be minimal disruption, the gods trust you to do the right thing, They will listen to you." She walked in front of Summer, cinder leaning in, close enough that summer could feel the heat of Cinder's breath. Golden eyes bored into silver, the certainty in them was unsurprising, cinder was skilled at portraying herself as confident in everything she did, even when she had no right to be.

"If you hold back however, we'll have to use force. We don;t have enough people loyal to use to keep prisoners. Many will fight back; people will die Summer, hundreds if not thousands. And make no mistake Summer, they will die because of  _you_." The last word was practically a snarl, the golden eyes turned fierce, angry.

"If we fail, we will ruin any chance of resistance against Ozpin. You will have  _no one_. Those you care about will be trapped on Remnant, hunted down by Ozpin. He will dispose of you and countless people will have died for nothing."

"But-"

"It;s wrong?" Cinder asked laughing as she broke eye contact. She paced the room.

"What's right about this situation? The person who is supposed to lead us, we who vowed to protect the universe, is actively trying to murder it! The only way to stop him is to either kill him, or imprison him."

"I could swear up and down about the greater good Summer, How you'd be saving more lives than you;d take. But if you can't get past your blind loyalty to principles this is all pointless!"

She approached, ramming a finger into Summer's chest. It hurt more than Summer expected.

"You need to take a page out of Raven's book and accept you can't be both a leader and a saint!"

The room was silent. Yesterdays news was still raw, and it hurt to be reminded of it once again.

"I'm not Raven." Summer said.

"No one said you have to be. Just that sometimes, you have to accept the good thing and the right thing aren't always the same." Winter said, "You can honor her memory, and make her sacrifice mean something."

Cinder looked at the two quizzically, before her eyes widened a fraction,however, her mask quickly reasserted itself.

"Yes Cinder, Raven was killed in action." Winter added.

Cinder nodded. One hand rubbing her forehead.

"That complicates things. I was hoping we could get her back to help us." She said with a sigh.

"Any delays?" Winter asked.

Cinder shook her head. "Just more variables. Which could be worse."

"But right now summer, you need to choose. Are you with us, or not?"

Summer looked at both of them. Summer could practically feel the desperation oozing out of winter. The dread of her potential refusal.

She looked at cinder. Her face was a mask, and a good one, but the telltale shift in stature was enough to indicate her concern.

Summer gave a sigh, closing her eyes and offering a prayer to Odin. Then she looked at her co-conspirators, and gave a nod.

She hoped this was the right choice.

 


	67. Valkyrie

Hel closed her eyes and smiled softly as she felt the warm mead flow down her throat. She leaned back in her chair, embracing the absence of light, teh crackling of fire, the burning sensation in her throat. She lowered the cup from her lips, placing it gently back on the table.

She leaned forward opening her eyes as she scowled. She stood. The was a disturbance, not here. Not at home. There was a disturbance in the ice palace. She thought briefly about ignoring it. The fire was warm, and who cared what happened to the palace? It had gone unused for years. She wondered back to the last time she had been there. Her father had worn a weary smile back then, a pained expression as he laid out his plan to her.

It had been the last time she had seen him. How long had it been? Decades, centuries? It felt longer than that. But she didn't keep track of time here. Day and night had no meaning in Niflheim

With a sigh she pushed herself out of the chair, stretching slightly as she shuffled over to the door. She opened the heavy oak door to her home with both hands, pulling against the roaring winds outside. With a heave the door came free,ice shattering as it came free. Snow billowed in, and she hurriedly stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind her. She looked up, frowning as she wondered why the world suddenly looked dimmer, darker.

"The sun is lower in the horizon?" She mused as her eyes fell to the frosted expanse before her. The twilight seemed to be slowly moving towards night. She sighed. Soon none of it would matter.

With a step she was gone, speeding through the frosted plains that enveloped niflheim. The ice pillars broke to monotony of the place on occasion, but there were few of those near the palace. She she moved ever closer to that hulking monstrosity of a building the pillars thinned, until there was only white snow and the darkened sky before her, stretching to the horizon. Within a few moments, The palace stood before her. She gave it an appraising look. It had crumbled somewhat since she was last here. The pillars that once caused the building to have a ethereal glow had faded, and many had fallen inwards, crushing walls and bringing the roof down on top of it.

She smiled, the cell was broken, never to be rebuilt.

She marched forward, gliding over the rubble as she entered what ha donce been teh foyer, now without a roof.

She smiled as she saw the silver hair. A grin breaking out as he turned and smiled in turn. It was a small, weary smile. The kind that spoke of great exhaustion and pain. Her smile widened all the same.

He had changed greatly since their last meeting. He was thinner than she remembered and his telltale red hair had faded to silver. Oddly he also wore a pair of rimmed spectacles and carried a cane. She buried the concern at those, instead spreading her arms as she approached. Wrapping her arms around in him as soon as they were close enough.

"Father. It's been far too long." Hel said.

Loki laughed, holding her tightly.

"That it has Hel. I wish I could have come sooner."

"But duties in Vytal, I know the reasons."

"It's almost over. The gods will finally have peace." He said.

She stepped a pace away,holding him at arms length, looking at him with curious eyes.

"I'm still committed." She promised.

"I would never doubt that."

"But you have doubts." Hel said.

Loki smiled weakly.

"When have I not? I unleashed Fenrir on Valhalla, I condemned innocents to death, and now I face repeating that tragedy."

"For the greater good." Hel said fiercely, "the gods cannot survive an unending war. By the time you rally the gods to support you, truly support you, Remnant will be uninhabitable, or there will be too few gods to fight for it."

She hugged him again.

"It's for the greater good."

Loki stroked his daughter's hair. Closing his eyes as he recalled the last time he had held her. It was ages ago.

"Then why doesn't it feel that way?" He asked quietly.

Hel hugged him tighter, wishing she could brush his doubts aside for him. But secretly she was glad he still had doubts, it told her that her father, the man who raised her, was still alive. It told her that even after changing his shape, his voice and even his name, he still had the same heart.

Slowly they separated. Loki flashed Hel a smile.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

She paused.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, "the end I mean."

Loki's face darkened

"I don't know."

Hel nodded, taking a deep breath before forcing a smile onto her face.

"Then we shall find out won't we?"

Loki smiled embracing her again.

"Yes, I suppose we will."

* * *

Summer sat in her office. It was a barren place, cold and unfeeling. She had Zeus to thank for that. He had not hesitated to attempt to make himself at home, and that in part, meant that most of the things she had gathered over the years had been removed. The various art pieces were gone, and the shelves had been removed, the holes where the supporting screws once were still unfilled.

She thanked Odin that Zeus hadn't had more time tore decorate. If he had, then she would probably have been staring at a bunch of heads right now. Fortunately for her, those were located down the hall, as Zeus grudgingly removed his things from the office. As stupid as he was, Summer had admit that at least he knew when refusal would have cost him his position.

She savored the look in his eyes as she marched in and commanded his things be transfered to his noticeably smaller office. He had looked scandalized and ready to fight until he realized that there were four other guardians with her to facilitate the move.

The fact they were heavily armed helped.

Now she leaned back in her chair, one arm slouched over the back as she appraised the room. White walls, scarred with holes looked back at her. As unappealing and barren as the room was, she couldn't help the smile that came to her face. This was  _her_  office. Zeus could pry it from her cold dead hands.

A gentle knock at the door broke Summer from her stupor. She glanced at her scroll, no messages, and zero notifications. An unexpected visitor then.

She sighed, she had been in her less than twenty minutes, why couldn't she get a little to to revel in her petty victory?

"Come in." She said. The door opening quickly to reveal a disheveled Winter Schnee. Summer cocked an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?" She asked curiously.

Winter's hair, normally in a tight, controlled bun was unraveling, hairs sticking out every which way, her bangs splayed across her forehead. Her uniform too, was creased, wrinkles on her jacket and shirt combined with her sword belt being haphazardly buckled led to the impression that Winter had not expected to be out in public.

Winter shook her head as she closed the door behind her walking to the center of teh room and quickly pacing in a circle.

"The room shouldn't be bugged." Summer said, getting an almost condescending gaze from winter in response. Winter continued to pace, the clack of heels on tile echoing throughout the room. Summer waited a few seconds, hoping that Winter would gather her thoughts and explain why she had come.

When Winter didn't say a word -instead apparently choosing to attempt to pace a hole in the floor- Summer decided to urge her on.

"What is going on Winter."

"Ozpin is gone."

"Gone?" Summer echoed. Ozpin leaving wasn't all that surprising, the fact that it affected Winter so however, was.

"He vanished! Into thin air!" Winter said throwing up her arms as she paced.

"One minute my agents said he was in his office, and in the next, somehow slipped by them and logged a request to travel to another world!."

"Okay."Summer said, "that isn't surprising, we know he's resourceful."

"Summer, you do not understand, he didn't travel alone."

"So he's meeting up with Zeus, going over plans again."

"Yes and no." Winter said, charging up to Summer's desk,He rhands slamming on teh wood with an audible thud. Winter leaned close, her eyes wild as they bored into Summer's own.

"He traveled to Niflheim."

"With Zeus?"

"Yes."Winter said. Summer coked an eyebrow. After a few moments winter groaned.

"The roots of Yggdrasil are in Niflheim, and if you want to destroy a tree…" She trailed off, waiting for Summer to catch the hint.

"Strike the roots." Summer finished.

"It's very likely he's enacting his plan." Winter said, "Cinder has already begun to enact our own, we don't have any time to lose."

"Don't we need more time?" Summer asked, even as she picked up her scroll, dialing the number for the main barracks.

"Need, yes. Have? No." Winter said brusquely.

"Let's hope this works then." Summer said as she brought the scroll to her ear. Relaxing ever so slightly as the call was answered.

Summer stared winter in the eyes, receiving an encouraging nodded, she turned her concentration to the guardian on the other end of the line.

"Inform the Guardians at once. Ozpin has been killed, we are enacting martial law."

Summer almost frowned at how quickly the guardian acquiesced, a brisk "yes Ma'am" was all she heard as the guardian hung up.

She lowered the scroll, placing it in a satchel on her belt. She stood stretching her arms.

"It's done." Summer said.

Winter pulled out her own scroll, sending a brisk text as she turned and began to walk back towards the door.

"No time to lose, if Ozpin or Zeus gets back things will get much bloodier." She said, her eyes focused on the screen of her scroll.

"Heading to Ozpin's office?" Summer asked, rushing ahead and pulling the door open before the woman could run into it. Winter nodded her thanks and continued to tap the small screen.

"I have a unit securing it. I'll head over once I'm confident Ozpin's loyalists are pacified." She pushed her way down the hall. Ignoring the guards weaving around her as the rushed out of the building and to their posts.

Summer heard the distinct bell tone of a received message. Winter stopped typing for only a few moments, her eyes scanning the message without a missing a beat, her step not faltering in the slightest.

"There has been a change in plans." Winter said, the words sounding as if the had been dragged kicking and screaming out of her throat.

"What kind of change?" Summer asked, her hand falling to her weapon, comfortably wrapped around her waist.

"We did not expect Ozpin to visit Niflheim, nor enact his plan so suddenly." She said, her eyes glued to her screen as she pushed one of the Guardian Headquarters heavy wooden doors open, her place slowing only momentarily.

They stepped out into the plaza,Stone and asphalt melding underfoot.

The plaza was unimaginably busy. Airships flew overhead, transporting guardians to key locations around the city. Summer wasn't sure if she should have been pleased that the guardians seemed to be obeying so readily. Was Ozpin's death all it took for them to unquestioningly obey her? Was she that popular?

 _Zeus_ _' appointment probably made it easier._ She thought. Zeus had already made himself stunningly unpopular. It probably made Summer seem like a saint in comparison.

Still, she would need to emphasize that while there wasn't a line of succession for the position of Lord-general, obeying commands to instigate martial law without verifying the Lord-general was actually dead probably was something they should not do.

Well, for now it worked in their favor, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Summer? Did you hear me?" Winter asked.

Summer smiled awkwardly, shaking her head. Winter rolled her eyes, finally looking up from her scroll.

"I've arranged for you to be transported to Niflheim. You have to stop you-know-who from returning." Winter said, glancing at some soldiers running past and clambering onto a nearby bullhead.

"Once he kills the tree he won't be able to return. He needs Yggdrasil intact to do that." Summer said

"Then he's going to make Zeus see to it. Whatever the case, you must stop him."

"So to a gate I presume?"

"Closest one is in the intelligence department. I presume you recall how to use it?" Winter asked.

"Of course" Summer said, almost offended that winter could have doubted her.

"Good." Winter said, glancing at her scroll as it rang once again. A quick glance brought a smile to her face.

"The radio stations have been seized. Cinder will make a speech soon, claiming Fenrir killed Ozpin in Valhalla, and that you have gone to defend Vytal."

'Very patriotic."

"Yes, it will play well." Winter said, missing the sarcasm in Summer's voice.

"Just get to Niflheim. And be careful, Hel rules that place, and she isn't our friend."

"I'm not worried about her, she can't influence the living."

Winter gave her a look that reeked of skepticism. Summer didn't need reminding that Hel had no real reason to be honest with her. Hel was Loki's daughter after all. She'd likely keep her cards close to her chest.

"Be careful anyway Summer." Winter said, "I dislike losing friends."

"Aww, so cute!" Summer cooed, only to be greeted with a glare.

Summer smiled, "I will." She promised.

Winter let out a sigh.

"Good, I'll keep this under control while you are gone."

The roar of a bullhead suddenly roared in their ears, touching down a few yards away from them.

"Someone called a bullhead?" A Guardian shouted from the open back.

"Go." Winter urged, struggling to be heard over the bullhead's engines.

"Cinder and I will keep things from getting out of hand here. Just concern yourself with keeping Yggdrasil alive!"

Summer gave Winter and Thumbs up, grabbing her cloak as it billowed in the wind. She headed towards the bullhead, squinting as the engines kicked up dust.

"Where to Commander?" The guardian asked as she boarded, the boarding ramp rising behind her. Hissing shut as she sat down.

"Intelligence department!" Summer shouted over the engines roar.

The sound was dampened somewhat by the bullhead's hull, but not enough to allow her to talk normally. A nod and a thumbs up were the only responses she got as the guardian rushed towards to cockpit. Evidently, the pilot know exactly where to take her, as the bullhead lurched off the ground rising high into the sky.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned on having a few chapters between the last one and this one. Evidently, that didn't happen. A few chapters of various characters dealing with angst probably wouldn't have been a good idea anyway.
> 
> We should be all caught up tomorrow, and then another chapter whenever it is ready. Nearing the climax people!


	68. Return to Niflheim

****

Peter Port sat in old leather chair. Browned and cracked slightly by age. He had inherited from his father, who had inherited it from his father, who had inherited it from his father, who had made it from the tanned hide of a Frost Giant he had killed with a teaspoon.

He poured himself two fingers of Midgard Whiskey.

Mortals always had the best drinks in his mind. They lived such short lives, so it stands to reason they would make better drinks. Their short lives were demanding, so the need to get mind-numbingly drunk was and understandable pastime. Alcohol allowed the dwellers of Midgard to better to cope with their momentary, fleeting existence that could end at any moment.

He liked to enjoy a small cup before bed, watching the sun set with two fingers of whiskey and a ice cube in a glass. He would usually sip a drink with his best friend, The energetic Dr. Oobleck.

Today was not to be one of those days.

He handed Oobleck the glass, his friend, the avid coffee drinker who railed against the crimes of whiskey, downed the glass fast enough to make even Port wince. And he liked the strong stuff!

He leaned over, pouring more from the decanter into his friend's glass, before pouring himself a single finger. Best not to dull the nerves too much.

"Do you think they will leave soon?" Oobleck asked, dabbing his forehead with a cloth. Nodding to the four guardians standing by the sitting room door, glaring at them.

Port chuckled. Amused as their prison guards shifted uncomfortably.

"You heard the man!" he said loudly, Causing one of the guards to jump. "When will you leave these two retired men in peace?"

"Once ordered has been restored. The death of the Lord-general has caused chaos." One of their guards, a woman of slight build with brown hair said brusquely, Adjusting as she adjusted her shades, one hand on her hip.

"As if your own actions haven't caused enough." Oobleck muttered under his breath, taking gulps of the strong liquor a moment later.

Port patted his friend on the back and slowly rose from his chair with a grunt. He patted his back arching over slightly as several guards stiffened hands tightening around their weapons. One a Giant of a man wrapped his hand around the hilt of a sword bigger than Port.

"Just an old man trying to move, the aches and pains." He muttered with a wave, apparently settting the giant at ease. The guardian relaxed as their leader patted him on the back.

"Why are Aummer and Winter doing this? How could Ozpin be dead?" Oobleck muttered. Port ignored teh question. The answer was obvious, this was a coup. Whether it was one aimed at restoring order after a catastrophe, or to seize power. That was the question.

And one they would not find the answer to drinking whiskey while being watched by a bunch of cubs.

"Do you still have your canteen?" Port asked as his began to move. "Now's the time for some piping hot coffee."

Oobleck looked up at his friend, surprise etched on his face. He cleared his throat as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Indeed I do. Would you like some?"

"It might be a good addition." Port said with a wink.

He meandered over to his large brick fireplace and reached for the blunderbuss-Axe that rested on the mantle between the skulls of two bear-like Grimm, Their open jaws used as mounts for the weapon.

"It no longer has the firing pin." Port said. "Still, holding it puts me at ease"

The female guardian stepped forward.

"Nonetheless, I'll have you give that to me." She ordered her hand outstretched.

"Oh," Port said with a sigh and slump of his shoulders, 'Surely you wouldn't deny an old many a small comfort in such a stressful time?"

"It is an Axe sir." She pointed out dryly, taking another step forward.

"I'm an awfully frail old man, I doubt I could even swing it…" Port said, adding a slight quiver to his voice.

"The stories advise otherwise." The guardian said, closing in and reaching for the weapon.

"Wait!" Port shouted.

She paused, her head cocked as she looked at Port. Even as her compatriots practically jumped, weapons drawn and bodies tensed.

"Do I smell coffee?" he asked.

And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

 

Summer stared at her scroll scrolling through pictures while she waited for the bullhead to land. She paused as she reached a picture taken years ago. It had been sent to her by Yang. In it Ruby grinned, her smile stretching ear to ear as she held up twin victory signs. On her left was Blake, a grin on her face even as she was mid eye roll. Weiss stood to her right, standing straight with a prim, almost plastic smile. The frazzled hair and hastily-made ponytail ruined the effect however. Yang stood at the extreme right, sticking her tongue out as she too raised her hand to make a peace sign.

Underneath it all was the caption "Team: RWBY" With each letter of the team name in a different color.

It had been the day they had completed their final exams and had become a formal squad within the Guardians. They looked happy, and at ease. Very different from how it had been in recent years.

This, she reminded herself, is what she was fighting for, this is what she was willing to die for. Ozpin had given up, decided to wipe the slate. She hadn't, she couldn't. If she did, what would happen to the people she had sworn to defend? What would happen to Ruby and Yang?

She couldn't give up, how would she face any of them if she did?

The bullhead landed without a sound. And it took the co-pilot tapping her on the shoulder to break her from her stupor. She nodded and leapt out of the bullhead the minute the door hit the ground.

The area was empty, the silence broken only by the sounds of distant gunfire. Summer looked east, across the river. The harbor was silent, devoid of life. The hustle and bustle of trade and transport grinding to a halt as Guardians and Intelligence agents charged through the city. Seizing various figures. She hoped the crack of gunfire wouldn't be returned, but the rumble of an explosion crushed those hopes. She thought she even heard a victorious laugh, but it was probably just the wind.

She pocketed her scroll, pushed the elevator button and strode through as the glass doors slid open. The elevator descended below ground, as if knowing exactly where she wanted to travel.

It did not take her long to reach the gate, her legs knew where to go, even as her mind wandered. She thought of other things, better times with Tai, Yang and Ruby, even as she activated the portal, their faces were foremost in her mind. She ignored the input locations, Hel's comments playing back to her, For whatever reason, Hel wanted her in Niflheim. She simply didn't know why.

"Well, I'm about to find out." She said as she stepped through the gate.

It was stomach wrenching, her gut felt as if it had been flipped inside of her even as she felt snow crunch underfoot. She buckled as she fell through the portal, it's grip on her leaving as quickly as it came.

She gasped for air, her heart pounding as the cold air chilled her lungs. She shivered. It was colder than last time. She slowly stood bvrushing the falling snow from her clothes. She looked up, the moon was high in the night sky, stars glittering brightly. Below, the snow was a deep blue color, reflecting the sky above.

She looked towards the horizon, searching for a marker, one of those pillars of ice, the light of those entrapped inside lighting the way until someone found her.

There were none.

Was this a joke from Hel? Had she been sent to some desolate area where she was conveniently out of the way? It would have made sense.

"Where am I?" She called out. Half anticipating Hel to appear behind her.

She grinned at the sound of crunching snow. She turned, preparing a snarky comment. It died on her lips as she saw one of the ashen behind her. She reached for her weapon as it stepped closer. A dull slumped walk. Its eyes disks of black, while its mouth hung open, it continued its forward motion without nay reaction to Summer. Summer backed away, moving to one side as she expected the being to strike. But it did not. Instead it continued walking in a straight line, past her.

She tracked the being as it continued its journey, as if in a trance. Where was it going? Why was it alone?

She went to follow, perhaps, she thought, Hel was using them to harm Yggdrasil somehow. And whatever had caused it to ignore her was, to the best of her knowledge, was likely to do with Hel, goddess of the dead. Who else could make a being that hungered life ignore it?

Instead she watched as a portal of black and red tore open before her.

"Raven." Summer greeted. Her heart warming at the thought of seeing her friend again.

Stepping out of her portal. Raven sheathed her sword and removed her Grimm mask. She looked at the goddess appraisingly.

"Summer." Raven greeted with a small amused smirk, enjoying some joke only she understood.

 _So Ozpin was telling the truth._  Summer thought. Here was Raven, looking no different from when Summer had last seen her. Sumer wouldn't have imagined her to be dead if they weren't in Niflheim right now.

"Is Ozpin here? Is he in Niflheim?" Summer asked.

Raven nodded. "Yes. And he also wants to speak with you."

Summer reeled back, her hand falling to her weapon.

"You're working with him?" Summer had meant it as a question, but the words came out as a surprised accusation.

Raven shook her head. Seemingly nonplussed by the accusation.

"If anyone can stop him, it's you. Getting you to him helps me too." Raven said, stepping away from her portal.

Summer eased.

"How does it help you?"

"It helps Yang." Raven said, "My aid is enlightened self interest."

Summer almost smirked.

"You're helping because we're friends." She teased.

Raven close to an admission as Summer was going to get.

"And Tai was quite insistent. He went so far as to make a backup plan in case you weren't able to come."

"You let Tai prepare a backup plan?" Summer asked with a questioning look.

Raven stifled a chuckle, a grin appearing on her face. "Usually I would agree, but if he fails Yang and Ruby will suffer."

She directed a hand towards the portal.

"Ready for the final battle?"

Summer nodded, and walked into the portal. Raven followed.

The blackness lasted only a moment, then blue filled her vision as she tumbled out. Her head still swimming. She urged her stomach not to retch. She felt a hand on her back and nodded gratefully as she looked up at Raven.

"Not the most elegant of arrivals." Hel said dryly. Summer looked at the goddess with a glare.

Hel smirked, giving a cheerful wave. Ozpin place a hand on her shoulder.

"Now is not the time." He urged.

"But father-"

"Summer does not deserve mockery, She is our last, and greatest opposition." He stepped forward.

"You have held onto your principles Summer, and in doing so, have damned so many more to tragedy. The chaos and confusion you and your compatriots of have sowed today could well end the lives of countless innocent gods. I don't even know if we'll be able to evacuate Vytal in time."

"There won't be an evacuation." Summer said raising to her feet and drawing her kusarigama "I'll stop you."

"We'll stop you." Raven amended.

Ozpin nodded. He reached out his cane materializing into his hand.

"I suppose you will try." He tapped it against the snowy ground.

Slowly it began to glow, lengthening into a spear. He rested it on his shoulder. His left hand reached into a pocket pulling out a small metallic orb. He tossed it behind him. The ball burst and a portal crackled to life.

"I wish I could fight you directly. And I had every intention of doing so. But now I have to clean up the mess you made." He said, venom in his voice as his gaze hardened.

He shook his head.

"I had such high hopes for you Summer Rose. I cannot begin to describe my disappointment."

"Go to hell." Summer snarled.

Ozpin, or rather, Loki, smiled and gave an artful bow.

"I suspect I shall. But first I have a people to save from oblivion."

He turned and entered the portal. Summer went to follow only to be held back by Raven.

"Hel can change the destination. She'll just send you somewhere else." She said.

"Not to mention you need to defeat his second before you can go anywhere." Hel added back away from the portal.

It rippled shuddering slightly before stilling. A boot thrust its way out, heavy and steel-tipped it slammed onto the ground as its owner slowly walked through the tear in dimensions. Out of the portal stepped Zeus. In one hand he held Mjlinor, in the other he held his spatha.

"I was getting tired of waiting in Valhalla. Is it finally time?" He asked gruffly.

He pointed his blade at Summer.

"Is it time for the duel? Do I finally get to kill her?"

Hel nodded. Zeus grinned.

"Good."


	69. Battle at the world tree

Zeus grinned lips pulling back to reveal white teeth, his weapons fell to his sides as he approached Summer and Raven.

"Do I get to fight both of you? Do you really think you have what it takes to kill me?" He asked mockingly, jutting his chin out at them.

"I could castrate you," Raven said, her arms crossed as she glowered at him. "But I'm afraid that would just make you more annoying."

Zeus growled. He took a step forward. Only to find his path blocked by Hel, one arm thrust out before him.

"She's-"

"Dead. And unable to be killed by you." Hel said, the tattoos on her face shifting as she smiled.

"Madam Summer, I did say we would meet again. Pity it is not as friends."

"Hel, I know you can't hurt me. I'm not dead."

Hel nodded with a bit of a laugh.

"Of course not, or I would have done so already, wouldn't I have? I am the goddess of death after all." She turned her gaze onto Raven. It grew cold, her eyes icy as they narrowed.

"Kneel," she ordered. Raven screamed, Summer's head snapping in her friends direction, eyes widening at the Raven's hunched form.

Raven seemed to be stumbling under some great weight with her body trembling, teeth gritted as her eyes widened. Raven's breath quickened as she began to shudder. Her back inching closer to the ground as her leg started to give.

Zeus turned to Hel, his scorn not hidden as he growled.

"She's mine." he said. Hel ignored him, concentrating the full force of her gaze onto Raven.

With a shout she stomped forward with one foot, grasping her sword. She tried to draw it. It rattled in its sheathe, but she grew no closer to drawing the weapon. Slowly she buckled, dropping to one knee. She snarled as her knee struck the snow.

"Stop!" Summer demanded, turning to look at Hel. Hel was grinning, her teeth bared as she watched Raven struggle to stand, reveling in watching Raven swear as she struggled to resist.

She turned to Summer, one hand held out towards Raven as she did so. With a flick of her wrist Raven's curses were silenced, her words replaced with gurgling as Raven reached for her neck. Gloved fingers clawing at flesh, trying to break the invisible grip of whatever was slowly tightening around her throat.

"Stop!" Summer demanded again, her eyes met Ravens. Raven's eyes were wide the red eyes begging for aid. From someone, anyone. For the first time Raven knelt, helpless as whatever remained of her life was throttled out of her.

"N,." Hel said.

"Please…" Summer begged, her voice wavering.

Zeus snorted.

"There's no glory in this, strangling a dead woman as she sits helplessly. Stop."

Hel's surprise was obvious as she looked at Zeus. She lowered her hand and Raven fell to the ground, gasping.

"She will not intervene,a shame. But I think you've proven your point," Zeus said. Hel shrugged, stepping out of the way.

Zeus shook his head as he turned to Summer. His smile came back.

"At least one of you still seems able to fight." He said, spinning the spatha in his hand.

"I won't let you destroy Yggdrasil."

"It is already dying. Its death is certain. I am simply skipping to the end."

"You're killing innocent people."

"As did you. As did your so called guardians when they failed to defend Valhalla."

"We fought!"

"What of those living outside Asgard? Those simple farmers? What happened to them when the Grimm arrived? Do you think Fenrir gave them mercy?"

"We tried-"

"And failed. But that is understandable. You were ignorant. Blind to what was needed."

He stepped forward pointing his blade at Summer as the twp began to circle.

"Power above all else. Valhalla was weak, and that should have been your lesson.

He stepped forward again.

"But for whatever reason, it wasn't enough. deluded by principles, the people who rule have changed, the viewpoint has not."

"So is this revenge? Is this punishment?"

"You wouldn't understand. Why would you? You are lost in principles and sophistry. Blind!"

He swung forward. Summer leapt back and stepped to the side, spinning the weighted chain in her left hand as she charged forward. She struck, swinging the sickle in her right, aiming for where Zeus' shoulder met his neck.

Zeus batted the attack away, slamming a shoulder into Summer's chest.

The breath fled from her chest, she shifted her weight, letting herself fall backwards into a roll, narrowly evading a strike from Mjolnir. She felt the ground shake as the hammer struck the frozen ground beneath her.

"You don't need to do this Zeus!" Summer shouted.

"It is far too late words!" he shouted, Thrusting his blade forward. Sparks flew as Summer blocked the blow with her chain.

Reaching around she spun her chain over the blade, letting the heavy weight do the rest. The weight spun, wrapping the chain around the spatha. With a shout, Summer dragged the weapon out of Zeus' grasp, flinging it aside with one arm.

Zeus snarled and swung with Mjolnir. Summer barely had time to leap away, the hammer's head glancing against her shoulder. Pain coursed through her arm as she stumbled away, trying to build distance between them.

Zeus let her, instead choosing to circle the Commander.

"You and the other gods are still blind. And as along as you are, our people will never be safe. There will be no peace. Valhalla was the warning you did not hear."

He charged forward and Launched a vicious kick, missing Summers head by a hair as she danced out of the way. She Slashed with her sickle. Zeus raised an arm, and caught the blade on his bracer. The sharpened blade skirted along the surface, cutting a mild gash in the steel. But leaving Zeus unharmed.

He stood, glancing at his bracer before shaking his head.

"Now, Yggdrasil will be the alarm no one can miss. The death, the destruction. If it is ignored, the gods were clearly destined to die on Valhalla."

Summer shook her head.

"Not if I have anything say about it" she shouted as she charged forward again.

She lashed out with he sickle, Zeus took a step back. The blade swinging harmlessly down in fornt of him, leaving Summer. He grinned, but then frowned as he saw Summer's smile.

Summer closed in. Slamming her heel into the ground she propelled the other upwards. Forcing the heel of her boot into Zeus chin. He stumbled backwards.

Summer gave him no time to recover. she spun her chain, propelling the weight at Zeus. It struck him in the chest, A blow that would have killed him if not for his aura. His aura flickered at the blow. He fell back, his body slamming into what little remained of of Yggdrasil's root.

He went to rise, only to receive a roundhouse kick to the face, whipping his head to one side as he fell again.

Zeus swung wildly with Mjolnir. Summer weaved out of the way, reversed her grip on her sickle and thrust the blade forward. The point found the flesh between the bones of Zeus's forearm. She drove forward, ignoring the scream of pain as she forced the blade of her weapon into the root of Yggdrasil.

Raven shouted something as Summer pushed onward. The blade dug deep, cracking the glass-like root. Summer stopped, her heart in her chest for a moment before she stepped away, panting and looking over her handiwork.

Mjolnir tumbled from Zeus' grasp, burying itself halfway into the snow. Zeus's left arm, already missing fingers, was now pinned to Yggdrasil's root. He reached into his belt and drew a knife made of bone. He slashed, aiming for her gut. She stepped backward and snapped a leg up to redirect the blow. The kick lurched Zeus's strike off course. The blade instead ending half embedded in Yggdrasil.

Summer wasted no time. The moment her foot landed in the snow, she shoved her other forward, stomping Zeus' face into Yggdrasil. His body spasmed as he fell back, concussed by the strike.

She lifted the chain and weight of her weapon, and she began to twirl it, building up the centrifugal force. Her eyes focused on where Zeus lay, panting as blood oozed out of his arm. He looked at her lazily, blood dripping from his brow where the blow had landed. His grabbed her sickle with his right hand and yanked, trying to dislodge the weapon, but it would not budge. He fell back against the root, his strength apparently spent.

"Just make it quick." he said.

Summer nodded. She was not so cruel as to drag out a death. She focused on the point between Zeus' eyes. She would strike there, his skull would cave in and he would die instantly. There would be no pain.

"And this mess will be over." she muttered.

"Summer look out!" Raven shrieked, the sound of crunching snow growing rapidly louder behind her.

Summer dove to the left, seeing only a crimson blade swing down from her right from the corner of her eye. She turned, moving as a panicked Raven haphazardly charged at her. The strikes were predictable and easy to dodge.

"It's Hel!" Raven said breathlessly as she continued to swing wildly.

Summer's eyes flicked to the goddess of death, who was smiling as she moved her hand like a puppeteer.

 _She can_ _'t harm me, so she's getting someone else to do it for her?_  Summer thought as she ducked out of the way of another slash. Raven now blocked her path to Zeus, and Summer was running out of length on her chain. She need to do something, the question was what.

The decision was made for her.

"Now Zeus!" She heard Hel say. Her attention flickered briefly enough for Raven's next strike to land.

It was painless, and the cut was shallow enough to be ignored. Summer grimaced as she pushed herself back towards Zeus. The chain's tension eased, and Summer began spinning her weighted chain.

Zeus right hand wrapped around Mjolnir and he raised it high, snow flying as he did.

Summer threw the weight on her chain, desperate to strike Zeus. The weight struck him in the ribs,shattering bone and tearing flesh as it struck.

Zeus grunted as he brought Mjolnir down. The hammer's head slamming down onto Summer's sickle, driving both blade and handle deep into Yggdrasil's root.

Zeus raised the hammer for another blow, but it slipped from his hand as he lost his balance and fell back against the root once more.

Raven tumbled to the ground as Hel released her grip on the woman.

Summer stopped short of Zeus. She looked down at the point where her sickle had been. His left arm was a mutilated mess, blood and bone fragments littered the root. Her sickle was nowhere to be found.

She looked at Zeus, prideful father of the Fall Maiden. He was sprawled out with his eyes clouding. His breathing was heavy as if he couldn't get enough.

He grinned at Summer.

"And thus… we… kindly scatter," he gasped with a mocking grin, before breathing his last.

Hel laughed. A high, throaty laugh. It filled the air. Summer ground her teeth as she went to turn and shout at the Aesir, but Raven was quicker to react.

Hel's laugh was cut short by a gurgling, choking sound. Summer's eyes narrowed down onto a narrow crimson blade protruding from Hel's throat. She fell backwards, sprawling out on the ground as blood dyed the snow around her red. Summer's eyes fell to Raven.

She was hunched, one arm outstretched, breathing heavily. She rose to her full height, her lips turned downward in a frown as she walked the few paces to Hel.

Raven's hand wrapped around the hilt as she planted one foot on Hel's chest.

"Never a good idea to annoy me." She said as she drew the blade from the Goddess's throat.

She turned to Summer.

"How is Yggdrasil?" She asked quickly.

Summer rushed to the root, ignoring the corpse as she wiped as much of the blood away as she could. The root was transparent. Summer could see her sickle's blade embedded in the root. The shaft had broken under the force of Mjolnir but the blade had been well forged and had, like a nail, been driven deep into Yggdrasil. The knife had not been so fortunate. Whatever it was made of, it had shattered. Several shards had been more deeply embedded, but the majority was gone.

Fortunately, Yggdrasil seemed to be little worse for injury, at least as far as she could see. Cracks emanated from the blow, almost like a spider web. However, beyond that, she could see nothing that looked like it would cause the tree more harm.

"I think it'll be okay for now," Summer said with a stepped away from the root. No need to risk doing something stupid.

Raven gave a sigh as she approached.

"Crisis averted," Summer said with a laugh. Raven smiled briefly, but the smile quickly vanished. Instead it was replaced with a wild eyed expression, color draining from her face.

"Where's Fenrir's tooth?" Raven asked.

Summer's eyes fell to the fragments of the blade that lay embedded in Yggdrasil. She prayed the thoughts coming to the front of her mind were not true.

Her heart sank as she heard a sound like cracking glass. The cracks in Yggdrasil began to blacken, like poison spreading through veins.

"Shit."


	70. Shock

Yin didn't know what to do. They were on a bullhead kindly supplied by Ironwood, over water, heading towards some forsaken piece of land in Mistral where Weiss,  _their_  Weiss, supposedly was.

Ruby had already been wound up tighter than a guitar, energy rippling off her. Her eyes refused to stay still, darting all over. Emerald was listening to music from her headphones, annoyingly loud, but worth suffering through for the promised reunion with their teammate. Yin herself was tapping one foot against the ground, Belladonna had been reading a book on her scroll.

Yin had been drifting off to sleep, the dull hum of engines soothing her frayed nerves as she felt herself relax into the bench.

A scream bolted her awake. Belladonna was on the ground, curled up in a fetal position, wrapping in upon herself, the scream stopped only long enough for a breath, before she unleashed another shout.

Yin bolted up, Ruby already at Belladonna's side, eyes wide as her proverbial string on the metaphorical guitar snapped.

Yin knelt by Belladonna, unsure what to do.

Belladonna screamed again.

"What's wrong Blake?" Ruby asked.

"It hurts!" Belladonna shouted.

"What does?" Yin said.

"Everything!" Blake shouted before she let out another shriek.

Yin snapped to look at thief looked back with a calm face. She shrugged.

"Help us!" Yin demanded.

Pulling of her headphones Emerald rolled her eyes. She tossed the headphones on the seat beside her as she stood and headed over to the goddesses.

She knelt placing her hands on the sides of Belladonna's head. The goddess continued to howl.

"Blake, look at me." She said. Her voice stern.

Belladonna writhed in her grip. Tossing as she began to flail, arms lashing out as she tried to drive the near-stranger away.

"She's convulsing!" Ruby said reaching out. Her hand was slapped away by a disgruntled Emerald. A glare told Ruby not to interfere again. It didn't stop Ruby from glowering at the intruder however.

"Blake, look at me." Emerald said again. It was to no avail as Belladonna let out another shriek.

Emerald raised one hand and brought it down. Open hand slapping Belladonna's cheek with enough force to cause aura to glow.

"Look at me you melodramatic cat!" Emerald shouted.

Red eyes opened wide, as Belladonna whimpered.

Yin watched as Belladonna stilled, eyes rolling into her head.

Emerald let out a sigh.

"Well that's over." Emerald said, lowering Belladonna's head to the steel floor.

"What did you do?" Ruby asked.

"Quick illusion. Knocked her out." Emerald said, picking up her headphones and pulling out her scroll.

"No need to thank me."

"We weren't going to." Yin said.

Emerald cocked an eyebrow.

"You slapped her."

"What?" Emerald asked with a chuckle, not looking up from her scroll, "only you can do that or something?"

In a flash Yin was on her feet, fist pulled back.

Ruby's arm snapped out, grabbing Yin's other arm.

"She's not worth it."

"Listen to your sis she's got brains." Emerald said with a triumphant smirk.

"We'll inform Weiss," Ruby continued with a smile, "Let her deal with her subordinate."

"I'm not her subordinate." Emerald growled. Nonetheless, her expression made it very clear that she would have rather gotten punched.

* * *

Red eyes narrowed as they fell upon the bright orange tent through the trees. Her pace quickened as she approached, ignoring the snapping of twigs underfoot. She brushed past several trees, raising a hand as she grew closer to the camp. The beowolves beside her growled, uncomfortable with leaving their mistress unguarded. Salem ignored them. She intended to reveal herself and the truth of who and what she was. That would entail revealing she was creating Grimm, but for now, she thought it was best to give Pyrrha as few shocks as possible.

Salem had come alone, Lie and Valkyrie were still recuperating. Valkyrie had recovered, adapting surprisingly well to the lack of depth perception that came with the loss of an eye. Her aim was still badly off, frequently falling short of her intended target. However, even Salem had to admit that the fact that Valkyrie shot grenades made the inaccuracy somewhat less concerning.

Assuming said grenades were fired solely at enemies that was.

Lie was in much worse condition. He arm had bled profusely, and while Valkyrie's attempts at staunching the bleeding had helped save his life, the fact was that he had lost too much blood to fight at full potential for the foreseeable future. She would also have to create a new arm for him.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her head. She was about to face the Fall Maiden, and several huntsmen, one mistake, one fumble and she could find herself in a fight she was neither intending nor prepared to have. She had no doubt she would be victorious if she tried, but she would lose Pyrrha's trust forever and that was too great a loss, especially since she still had no idea where Fenrir was.

She broke into the clearing, brushing branches out of her way. As she strode into the camp. It was apparently empty. Four tents, all bright orange in color stood in a semi-circle, the remains of a campfire smoldered before her. She took in the scene, tilting her head as she tried to discern if there were any traps laid before her.

She smiled as she saw none, and instead walked forward, kneeling before the embers, she placed her hand in the ashes, they were wet, and still had a hint of warmth. She almost laughed, someone was aware of her presence, likely Pyrrha, and had warned the group.

She stood casting a glance towards the tree line beyond the tents, scanning for a potential sniping position. Her eyes fell to a tall pine, It would be where her partner would have laid in wait, but was Remnant's Ruby as skilled a shot?

She shrugged, it mattered little. There were quicker ways to diffuse this situation.

"Pyrrha, I wish only to talk." She said, enunciating every word.

She waited, the seconds seemed to stretch on as they group likely debated what to do. While she waited, Salem scanned for where the various huntsmen and huntresses were hiding.

She had spotted Nora, a hint of pink showing against the greenery. Ren would not have been too far away, prepared to cover Nora should she decide to attack. Jaune was also embarrassingly easy to spot, leaning behind a tree. His frame was entirely hidden, but the scuff marks leading to a cluster of trees gave him away.

Eventually she spotted one whom she presumed to be Ruby, the bobbing of a branch catching her eye. It wasn't the sniping position she had suspected, and was at a poor angle if Ruby was expecting to cover the camp.

Salem could only guess they had expected the element of surprise to work in their favor.

That, she had to remind herself, and the fact that Remnant's version of Ruby and her friends were woefully inadequate compared to those from Vytal.

She smiled as she took a step closer to the main group. Her ears picked up the rustling of leaves to the left someone was trying to circle around, outflank her in case a fight broke out.

Not a bad decision per say but certainly useless. The only person here who could potentially be considered dangerous was Pyrrha, and only because Salem had no desire to harm her.

Hopefully the feeling would be mutual.

Salem planted her feet, she stood quietly, hands at her sides. Now was not the time for grand displays. Pyrrha and the others were likely skittish regarding the mysterious woman standing in the middle of their camp, aware of a woman who was dead was somehow traveling them.

She waited a a short while more, waiting as her patience grew thin. Her foot began to tap the dirt as she crossed her arms.

"Pyrrha, I know you are there, with the others. Let's talk." She said, her eyes narrowing as she caught movement from the foliage. "Let's stop wasting time."

She almost grinned as she felt cold steel at her neck.

At of the corner of her vision Salem could see emerald eyes, the tip of Pyrrha's blade barely touching the back of her neck, Her eyes flicked to the group the came out of the foliage, Ruby descended from her perch, even as Nora and Ren walked out of the foliage, Jaune following soon after, weapon drawn.

"Hmm, interesting." Salem mused as her eyes fell to her left flank, a figure stumbled out of the forest there. A wolf faunus from the looks of him. She tucked the knowledge of another member of their group aside for now.

"Now can we get to talking?" Salem asked with a huff, her eyes falling to Pyrrha's. It was interesting to see how the height difference between the two had changed. Salem was at least a head taller than Pyrrha, if not slightly more. She could almost laugh at the inanity of that observation.

A smile grew, and only widened as Pyrrha's brow scrunched and she cocked her head as if trying to grasp at why Salem looked so familiar.

"It's been a while, You and Jaune get married yet?"

The steel in Pyrrha's hand wavered,and Salem brushed the blade aside , stepping close to Pyrrha and looking down at her.

"Same hair, but blue eyes." She teased. A thrill running up her spine as eyes widened in disbelief.

"Much shorter, and this," she began revealing the rapier on her hip, "was white rather than black."

Pyrrha lowered her blade numbly, taking a step back as she trembled, confusion clear as day on her face. Salem took stock of the others, all in hearing distance of their little conversation. They did not seem likely to interfere, picking up on that Salem knew Pyrrha somehow.

"One more push then." Salem said, practically reveling in the suspense that coursed through Pyrrha's limbs and face.

"How's Rose doing? And Yang, is she still making puns at meetings?"

The questions were at least somewhat rhetorical, intended to reveal personal knowledge than actually glean anything. Catching up could wait, this couldn't.

"Weiss?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes wide as she took a another step back.

Salem smiled and closed the distance, wrapping her arms around the now shorter woman.

"It's been awhile hasn't it?"

She heard the clatter of weapons fall to the ground. As Pyrrha reciprocated the hug she could feel the Maiden trembling, holding back tears.

"It's good to see you." Salem said. The sincerity made her voice tremble. A moment of weakness, the facade cracking. She tightened her grip, wishing she didn't have to let go.

"Can someone explain what is going on?" Ruby asked eventually. Getting a laugh from the two goddesses.

Salem opened her mouth but all that came out was a choking sound, one hand flew to her chest as she fell to the ground, eyes wide.

Her chest hurt, she couldn't breathe. She felt weak.

She saw the Faunus of their group react in a similar manner. Why? Her train of thought was derailed as the pain intensified. What was happening? She had never felt so weak, never felt this kind of pain, her body was burning!

It couldn't be…

"Weiss!" Pyrrha shouted rushing to her side, "what's happening? What's wrong?"

"Yggdrasil." Salem breathed. "He killed Yggdrasil."

In the distance a Beowulf howled.

* * *

The streets were burning.

Port wiped the sweat from his brow, another guardian lay prone before him. Groaning in pain.

"It surprising at how uncoordinated they have become." Oobleck said, knocking his own foe unconscious.

Port laughed.

"They're training has slipped! Back in my day…"

"The Guardians would never have been caught dead in such a sorry state." Oobleck finished, patting his friend on the back as he headed down the street, closer to their destination.

The radio tower that Cinder was broadcasting from dominated the skyline above them, blocked only by the labyrinthine streets and rows of buildings that marked the city center.

It had taken them nearly an hour to make their way from Port's abode on the outskirts. Port had urged a more direct approach, but Oobleck had persuaded him them charging into the city swinging an axe on a warhorse was an excellent way to get shot. Not that Port didn't almost do it anyway.

A siren broke through the silence on the street, Cinder's voice filled the air.

" _Citizens of Vytal, Our dear leader, Lord-general Ozpin, had been tragically killed in Valhalla while investigating a terrorist plot. To secure the peace, Summer Rose, Commander of the Guardians, has tasked me with enforcing order while she pursues those who killed the Lord-general. Please follow their requests to the best of your ability, I and our fellow citizens, thank you."_

"Do you think it will ever stop?"

"When she has centralized power most likely."

"The strategy of many a coup eh?"

"I don't understand why the guardians would follow her. If Summer Rose were involved in this, why isn't she the one speaking?"

Port hefted his axe over his shoulder.

"Simple, She's not." He said walking up to his friend. "If I know one thing, and I know many things, it's that Summer Rose is principled to a fault. She would never entertain the thought of grabbing power through a military coup. Nor would she permit this."

Port waved a hand behind him, showing the scarred and scorched remains of the side street they were walking down. Four guardians stood slumped on or over various structures, one had even been thrown halfway through a window.

Oobleck nodded, "She would never willingly harm Vytal."

Port went to to answer but paused, his brow creasing as he looked over Oobleck's shoulder.

Oobleck turned to see a portal tear itself open before him. Out stepped Ozpin, carrying a spear of ebony wood with bronze engraving. He was scowling, but brightened as he saw Oobleck and Port, and easy grin coming to his face.

"Raising hell I see." He said bemusedly.

"It's good to see you alive. Cinder Fall has been claiming you are dead." Oobleck replied.

Ozpin laughed. Port followed his lead, slugging the Lord-general in the arm.

"I knew you weren't dead! To think a boy like Zeus could kill you is simply absurd."

"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Ozpin agreed.

"Where is Summer? Was she with you? Cinder has taken control of the Guardians in her absence." Oobleck said, turning the conversation back to the present

"I don't know. Last I saw her, she had chased Zeus to Niflheim."

"Niflheim?" Oobleck and Port asked in unison.

The rumble of an earthquake interrupted Ozpin's answer. the streets groaned as glass panes shattered, shards crinkled as they struck the ground.

Ozpin stared at the shaking ground, watching as stone cracked beneath his feet. With a great sigh he turned back to them.

"There is precious little time. Yggdrasil is in grave danger. Summer is in Niflheim trying to defend it."

"What can we do?"

"We can teach Cinder it's poor form to launch a coup!" Port said, slinging his axe onto his back.

Ozpin shook his head.

"Summer has bought Vytal precious little time. If she fails the Universe will collapse. Our only choice is to head to Remnant."

"You've mentioned that place before. Wasn't that where team RWBY and JNPR went?"

"Yes, But that is irrelevant. Get the people to evacuate immediately. Try to inform the guardians if you can. I'll meet you at the airship hanger with coordinates."

'And you'll deal with Cinder I take it?" Oobleck asked quietly.

Ozpin nodded slowly. His eyes narrowing as he turned to face the radio tower, his aura glowing gold.

"Permanently."


	71. Chapter 71

Cinder watched the screen over winter's shoulder. She gripped winter's shoulder tightly, her nails almost digging in. It was all she could to do not to pace as she gnawed on her lip.

"How many are still willing to fight?"

"Almost none. A few are convinced that the Ozpin that has shown up in the marketplace is a fake, and plan to continue fighting, but the majority have returned to their barracks." Winter said as she continued to type furiously on the keyboard before her.

"Any word from Summer?" Cinder asked.

"None. But with Ozpin here we should assume the worst."

The tower rumbled, Cinder hissed as she nearly lost her balance. The quakes were getting more violent as time passed, which certainly led more credence to Winter's suspicions.

"I'm trying to get a message to Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc, warn them of what Ozpin has done. That way, he can't just sweep his actions under the rug."

"Well you better hurry." Cinder muttered.

"Why?" Winter asked, looking up from her task. She followed Cinder's gaze. Whatever she was seeing was below them. Winter stood, looking over the computer in front of her.

The radio tower was a tall building, and they were far too high to see the face of whoever stood in front of the tower. but it did not take a genius to figure out who it was when their foe was glowing gold.

"Ozpin's here? Alone?"

Cinder nodded. She turned on her heel, heading towards the stairwell.

"You aren't actually planning on fighting him?" Winter asked incredulously.

"Fight? No, I will delay him. Make sure Ruby gets that message." She pushed open the stairwell door.

"It's all we can do at this point."

Cinder stepped out into the plaza before the radio tower. The sky was clear, the world silent. There were no gunshots in the distance, no bullheads roaring through the air, no explosions.

She sighed, turning to look at the Aesir before her.

Ozpin frowned, his spear in one hand, his other curled into a fist. His eyes glowed as aura seemed to exude from him like steam, the golden color flickering like a flame.

"You and Winter have lost. The guardians have stood down." He said walking forward, each step measured, clacking on the stones before he took another. He stopped twenty paces from her, and gave her a sad, almost pitying smile.

"Your coup attempt has failed." Ozpin said, spinning his spear with a flick of his wrist.

"Surrender, and let me fix the mess you have made."

Cinder spread her arms with a chuckle.

"Perhaps, but what now? Do you honestly expect us to surrender?"

Ozpin shook his head.

"So, surrender and die, or fight and die?" Cinder asked, swords appearing out of thin air in her hands, obsidian blades absorbing the light around them.

"I know what I would pick." She leaned forward, ready to charge.

Ozpin presented his spear, hand open, the haft balanced in his palm. Cinder paused, flinching as her eyes focused on the weapon.

"Do you know what this is?" Ozpin asked, eyes never leaving Cinder.

"It's my father's spear. I got it for him as a present. He loved it," Ozpin twirled the spear, grasping it as he pulled back his arm, aiming the weapon like a javelin.

"He called it Gungnir."

Cinder's eyes widened, she bolted forwards, blades raised.

"Winter Schnee." Ozpin said. He threw the weapon.

"Winter!" Cinder shouted,slashing at Ozpin even as her eyes followed the spear sail through the air, changing trajectories as it shot upwards vertically, tearing through steel and glass at it pursued its target.

Ozpin weaved out of the way of the blades. taking two steps back. He pulled back a fist and leapt forward.

Cinder glared as Ozpin neared, fist pulled back. Cinder stepped back before thrusting one blade at her foe.

Ozpin twisted to the side, the blade barely skimming skin. Gold aura flashed as she brought down her other blade. Ozpin blocked with an arm. striking as he redirected the blow into the ground.

Ozpin's fist missed Cinder by a hair. The duelists broke apart.

"Damn you." Cinder hissed, circling the Aesir.

Ozpin shrugged, but said nothing.

Cinder strode forward, closing the gap between the two. She swung her blade downward, forcing Ozpin back.

"You've lost. Give up." Ozpin said.

With a shout Cinder thrust with one sword, aiming for Ozpin's heart. Ozpin reached out with an open hand. The blade's point crashed into it.

Cinder pushed forward, feeling the resistance give. She grinned as she closed in, convinced Ozpin's aura had broken. If she could close in, strike again, she could end this in a heartbeat. She swung down with her other sword, only to feel a hand wrap around her wrist.

Ozpin wrapped his free hand, the one that had blocked her first weapon, over her own. The blade of the sword was gone. Not shattered, not melted, just gone.

Her weapon, forged from dust had crumbled.

"I told you. You've lost." He said, tightening his grip on her wrist.

Ozpin twisted his hand, and Cinder felt her own spasm, blade tumbling to the ground.

She lashed out with a foot, catching Ozpin in the ribs, He grunted, releasing Cinder as he slid out of reach.

She leapt back. Checking her remaining weapon she scowled, the blade was gone, only the guard and handle were left. She tossed the ruined weapon aside. Without a blade, it was useless anyway.

Ozpin reached out with one hand, waiting only a moment before glass shattered. Gungnir, soaked in crimson, returned to his hand.

He reached back, holding the spear like a javelin. Cinder watched, her eyes focused on the tip of the spearhead. She felt the muscles in her legs tense as she prepared to leap aside.

Ozpin would be open for only a second, she would have to reach her fallen weapon and strike during that opening.

"Cinder Fall." He said, throwing the weapon forward.

Cinder leapt to the side, pushing forward she closed on Ozpin, relishing the look on his face, mouth open, eyes wide. It was as if he was even more surprised than she that Gungnir could miss.

One hand closed around her sword. Sword in hand, she grinned. She rushed forward as quickly as she could. She closed in, Ozpin's eyes widened as Cinder stabbed with her weapon, aiming for his eyes. Ozpin twisted his body,sidestepping to avoid the strike. He was to slow. blade pierced flesh, Cinder hissed, ignoring Ozpin's yelp of pain. She gritted her teeth. The strike was shallow, enough for blood but not lethal. She pulled her weapon back for another strike. If she struck quickly, Ozpin wouldn't be able to escape. She attacked as quickly as she could.

It wasn't quick enough.

* * *

Winter huffed. Her arm was numb, likely from blood loss. She looked at the tourniquet made from a jacket sleeve. It didn't have to last long, just long enough for her to complete her message.

Thank Odin Cinder had warned her of the incoming attack.

She had to admit that the appearance of Gungnir had surprised her. She had believed it lost following the Fall of Valhalla and death of Odin. It seemed that Ozpin had been holding onto it.

"Damn spear." Winter huffed as she continued to type with one hand.

Fortunately, hit and kill had meant two different things, and her instinctive raising of her arm to shield herself had saved her life.

The pain was intense, but it was much worse when Ozpin had called them damn thing back moments later. What was worse than getting speared through the arm? Having said spear yank itself out.

She glanced over the message she had typed, it was long, probably longer than absolutely necessary, but the extra information was important in convincing RWBY and JNPR not to trust Ozpin.

She had been reluctant to mention Summer's fate, but Ruby and Yang did deserve to know, and it would further clarify the gravity of the situation.

"And send." She muttered, clicking the send button on the screen. The minute the delivery had been confirmed she deleted the message. Ozpin would never know what had been sent, how much they knew.

She smiled, she had done what she could.

The elevator dinged.

Winter didn't turn. She knew who was there. Cinder had known from the moment their duel began what its outcome would be, just as Winter knew what the outcome of this meeting would be. Assuming it could be called a meeting that is. Perhaps execution was a better word?

Yes. Execution was better, more final.

Ozpin wouldn't have cared though. Meeting, execution, duel, regardless of the word the result would not change.

The doors slid open.

"Surprising. You're still alive." He mused as he approached. Ozpin's face and hair were caked in blood. Red oozed down the right half of his face. His clothes were splattered with blood, and in his hand he held gugnir, still dirty from it's last kill.

Now Winter turned in her chair, smiling widely.

"You think you've won Ozpin?" She said, her smile widening as she took in Cinder's small victory.

Ozpin shook his head.

"There's no victory, I'm simply cutting losses."

"By murdering everyone in the universe? Quite a loss then."

"Yes, but one that is ultimately irrelevant."

He raised his spear, cocking his arm back.

"Winter Schnee." He threw, the weapon sailed through the air.

Winter closed her eyes, relaxing. It wouldn't miss at this distance. It was Gungnir after all: it couldn't.

Ozpin walked forward, gripping the haft of the spear. He yanked it free.

He sighed as he turned. He hesitated, turning back towards winter, eyes falling onto the ruined computer terminal. He shrugged. Time would tell what she had done.

He hesitated as he walked back to the elevator. He reached out to press the button that would send hi to the ground floor, but hesitated. He felt blood drip down his cheek. He ignored it, it had been bleeding for some time. Aura was not staunching teh bleeding, even when he focused. Instead his eye narrowed onto his trembling hand. He curled it into a fist.

He still had time, he had to have more time.

He walked out, taking the stairs instead.

* * *

It was dark.

It was wet.

Where was she?

This wasn't Niflheim, it wasn't cold. What had happened?

Oh yes, the knife, it had been fashioned from Fenrir's tooth. Zeus had hammered it into Yggdrasil with Mjolnir, leading to the blackened veins.

What had happened next? She didn't remember.

She opened her eyes, but saw nothing.

She listened, straining her ears, but heard nothing.

She reached out grasping but felt nothing.

So how was it wet? You had to feel wetness right?

But she didn't she just knew.

She stood, less by actual movement than by thinking about standing. She turned looking for light, a pinprick anything that could give a clue to where she was.

"Is this better?" A voice asked in her mind.

The darkness turned to light, black became white.

It was too bright, she covered her eyes. Allowing them to adjust before looking around her. Everything was white. Just white, no definition, no way to judge distance.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I am me." Was the reply.

She gritted her teeth, whoever this was, they were going to be coy.

"Where am I?"

"Here."

"Where is that?"

"Everywhere."

She had no response. Here was everywhere? That made no sense.

"Confused? You are a mortal, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"Why don't we talk face to face?" She proposed. That way she could beat answers out of the mystery person if all else failed.

"That could be interesting."

Before her, a shape took form and definition.

Red hair, in a bob cut, curling near her chin. Freckles spotted her cheeks, while her green eyes looked up hopefully. The hopeful, innocent look reminded her of a younger Ruby.

Summer blinked, her mind racing to rationalize what had just happened.

"Salutations." The girl said. Her voice was chipper,the girl was bouncing from one foot to the other, seemingly full of pent up energy.

"Who are you?" Summer asked.

The girl grinned.

"That's a part of the game." The girl said. "I've been waiting a very long time for you."

'Why?"

"Because you being here means it's begun."

"Ragnarok?"

The girl nodded, her smile still in place.

"Your the first that will come here. But there will be a few more."

"More?" She asked, looking around. She paused. Raven had been with her. Where was she?

"Where's Raven."

"Ms. Branwen is where she's supposed to be. Where she's destined to be. As are all who reside across the universe."

This girl sure seemed to know a lot…

"Ruby! And Yang! Are they okay?"

The girl shrugged, her smile fading.

"They are important… but, they are…"

She trailed off, chewing on her lip as she thought.

"They are… disconnected? I don't know where they are." The girl said.

Summer sighed, sitting down again.

What was she going to do?

_Calm down and think. Gather relevant information, assess and then act._

"Does this place have a name?"

"Negative." The girl chirped.

"And do you have a name?"

"Yes!"

"And it is…" Summer began, nodding.

"You need to figure that out for yourself!" The girl said with a laugh.

Summer groaned.

"But in the meantime call me…" the girl paused for a moment, tapping a finger to her lower lip, "Penny, call me Penny!"

Summer grinned, she was finally getting somewhere.

" _Be polite, tease the information you need out. She holds all the cards right now._ _"_

She reached out a hand.

"Nice to meet you Penny."

Penny took it. And shook her hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well."

Now Summer had a name and a face for the odd girl. Next was to figure out who the girl actually was, and how that was relevant. Then, find some way to send a warning to Ruby and Yang, or better yet, deliver it herself.

They needed to know, Ragnarok had begun, and there was no stopping it.


	72. Chapter 72

Amber eyes opened to a bright fluorescent light. The room stank of antiseptic cleaners. Eyes flicked left, then right. The room was white, with the exception of two goddesses in a pair of steel chairs, snoring softly.

Ruby was leaning onto Yin, who in turn was resting her head on Ruby's. Yin's arms were crossed over her chest, While Ruby had wrapped her cape over herself, hood down. Heavy breathing told her that both were deep asleep.

Belladonna shivered, She wished she could wrap Ruby;s cape around herself, the thin blankets she was currently under did little to keep out the chill.

How long had she been out? Last she remembered, they had been on a bullhead and then…

One hand went to her heart, there was no pain there now, but she remembered it like it had happened only a moment ago. The burning, crushing sensation, like she was being ripped apart from the inside. What could have caused it?

Her eyes snapped to the door before her at the click of a lock being turned.

Where was her weapon? She glanced across the room, looking for a shelf or a bag where her belongings would have been placed. But the room was empty, sterile.

She pushed herself out of bed, cringing as she realized she was dressed in only a hospital smock, far from the best attire for a fight. Should she wake Yang and Ruby? She didn't have time, every sense was telling her to charge the moment the door opened. But what if there were multiple enemies?

The door began to open, no time to think. She crouched, straining her she prepared to pounce as the door started to open.

"Yang, Ruby, I'm here with food. How's Bla-"

Arc paused, staring at Belladonna. In his hands were a pair of trays piled high with highly processed snacks and carbonated drinks. A few fruits rolled around the trays as well, bananas hanging off the side of one.

He blinked. Pausing as he stood in the now open doorway.

"Blake?" He asked.

Belladonna blushed. Rising, she cleared her throat.

Arc for his part, shrugged and walked into the room after a beat, setting the two trays down on a counter near the sink,

"I thought they might need food. It's been awhile since they had an actual meal."

Belladonna sat back on her bed, raising an eyebrow.

"And that's a meal?" She asked.

Jaune blushed, "well, as close as I could get without waiting for it to be cooked."

Belladonna rolled her eyes, the thin smile giving away that she wasn't actually surprised. Ruby and Yang had always been impatient for food, quick cooking had been something of a norm for team RWBY. Not exactly much of surprise for a team that was always on the move.

"So, I hear Weiss is on her way to Vytal." Jaune said, trying the break the silence that had fallen.

Belladonna perked up at that. She nodded.

"Yes, supposedly she met up with Pyrrha and they are all heading to Vytal."

"Pyrrha's with Weiss?" Jaune asked, the excitement in his voice barely contained.

"That is what emerald said." Blake replied. She glanced around, noting emerald was nowhere to be found. As little as emerald clearly liked them, it would have made sense for the thief to remain nearby.

"What happened to her? Where is she?" She asked

"Ironwood took her for questioning. After you had your.." He paused, thinking of an appropriate word, "attack, We got docked with a patrolling Atlesian warship, they ran a bunch of tests, but ended up finding nothing wrong. Meanwhile, Ironwood had Emerald arrested for her part in a terrorist attack.

Belladonna nodded. She'd need to investigate that, she hadn't pegged the girl as a terrorist, Emerald didn't remind her of Adam.

"So we're heading to Vytal?" Belladonna asked.

"Yep," Arc said with a nod. He leaned against the counter behind him. "Should be there in a day or two."

"The Remnant versions of us," he added, though the look on his face was something between pained and confused at the mention of another version of him, "plus Glynda's group, are taking a bullhead as we speak. They should arrive on this ship tomorrow."

Belladonna nodded, falling silent.

"How are you feeling?" Arc asked after a few moments.

Belladonna shrugged. "Well enough. The pain is gone."

Arc nodded smiling. "Good to hear. We were worried and especially after your hair color started reversing itself."

Belladonna furrowed her brow, crossing her arms. She hurried to the metal counter top, hoping the surface would be reflective enough. It wasn't instead of a reflection Belladonna's head looked like a misshapen blob. Hardly inspiring.

"Here." Arc offered, proffering his scroll.

She took it, and looked at the reflective screen. Her heart in her throat.

Black hair, amber eyes.

She smiled letting out a small chuckle, one of relief, before it became of full throated laugh. Her body shaking as tears streamed down her face.

She didn't notice Yin or Ruby waking from their slumbers. She hardly heard them, didn't resist as they wrapped her in a hug.

She felt as light as a feather.

She was free.

Golden eyes narrowed as Vytal shook violently.

The streets were desolate, once aligned brick sidewalks now jutted upwards like misshapen teeth. Crevices opened in the roadways. In the distance Ozpin heard the screech of metal as concrete and steel gave way. The sound of shattering glass lasted only a moment more.

His head swam, his vision, or what was left of it blurred. Blood caked his face, dried and scabbing as he continued on his way.

He continued to walk forward, one foot after the other. The roar of airship engines whirring to life above him brought a smile to his face. He was close only a few more steps.

Right left, right left.

Just as he had done for years.

How long had he planned, how long had he done what he had to do?

How many times did his actions damn innocents?

He almost laughed at that last thought. Summer's idealism must be getting to him. Well, she was dead now. The quakes were an indication zebus and Hel had succeeded. The price had been great, but he would make it worth it.

Besides, there were no innocents,every single person in Vytal, in the universe, no one was completely innocent.

It was a relative word, used to conjure the imagery of children, ignorant to life's cruel realities. Life was war, endless war.

His eye narrowed as he continued on his path. There was nothing left binding him to the realms anymore. No friends, no family. Nothing.

Nothing stopping him from truly becoming the monster Vytal needed. For that is what was needed now. When Vytal had first become the Gods new home, they had needed a visionary. He had provided that. Then, when they were prepared to fight the darkness, they had needed a leader. He had provided that too. And finally when they had needed someone to be the truth teller, the one who accepted the hard truths, he had done that too.

Was there anything he would not do for Vytal? For its people? No. He would sacrifice everything for them. He had sacrificed everything for them. Including his own daughter, may she rest.

Now he would be the monster they needed, the one to be blamed for the butchery that would come. The gods would need to act fast. With Yggdrasil gone their days as divine beings were numbered.

They would have to conquer Remnant before then.

And finally they would have a lasting peace.

Blue eyes gazed into a scroll. Her reflection gazed back. The scroll wasn't even on, the reflective screen instead giving a somewhat darker reflection of her own face.

Salem frowned as continued to look. Yggdrasil's death had changed her appearance somewhat. Her red eyes had changed to blue, the blacked sclera retreating from the edges of her eyes, making it look like her iris look like they shot black flames across the surface of her eyes. The veins that once spread across her face and arms were slowly fading, leaving dot like remnants behind.

Her appearance was not the only thing to have changed however. Her heart weighed in her chest, even as the lump that formed in her throat over an hour ago refused to leave. Her body felt stiff, but the agonizing pain was gone. A good thing too, Pyrrha had been forced to half carry her onto the bullhead that had been called by Remnant's Ruby. She doubted her first formal meeting with Ironwood would go well if she had to be carried off the bullhead as well.

She felt weak, almost as if she had lost half the strength in her muscles. Still gazing at the scroll, she reached out with her senses, hoping to detect some Grimm in the wild, reach and bend it to her will. Give Neapolitan a message that she was not dead.

She sensed nothing, even though she was certain there were Grimm below them.

She leaned back with a sigh, and forced herself to look away from the scroll. Her eyes fell to the forms of Ren and Nora, each sitting at opposite ends of a bench. Fenrir lays curled between them, his ears flat against his head as he whimpered.

Nora stroked his hair, already fading from black to gray at the roots. If Fenrir noticed he gave no reaction. He did not move his head resting on Nora's lap. One hand numbly gripping hers.

Ren looked on, for once, not impassive. His eyes flicked back and forth even as he struggled to find a way to comfort the creature of destruction.

"It's Yggdrasil. Fenrir is an extension of the trees will."

"And now that the tree is dead, he'd dying." Ren said. Ignoring Nora's worried glance up at him.

Salem nodded.

"More like he's starving really."

"How do we help him then?" Nora asked.

Salem shrugged rubbing her forehead.

"I don't know." She admitted.

"Is Yggdrasil's death the reason you are starting to change?" Pyrrha asked from beside Salem.

Salem turned, swallowing slightly as she thought about how to best explain.

"Yes. It is also why my control of the Grimm is apparently gone."

There was silence for a bit.

"You could control Grimm?" Nora asked.

"I could, Yggdrasil uses the Grimm as a way to feed, negative emotions are as necessary for Yggdrasil as positive ones."

The Remnant hunters looked at her. The look was not one of disbelief. Salem sensed the question they all wanted to ask. She knew she needed to address it at some point. They had all watched as Grimm tore through civilians at Vytal. They had all suffered because of what cinder had done. And they probably knew cinder hadn't acted alone.

Eventually it was ruby who asked.

"Why didn't you help?"

The meaning was clear. Why didn't she stop the Grimm? Why didn't she stop the fall of beacon?

Salem put on a wry, sad smile. Best to deal with this directly. Pyrrha would appreciate direct honesty and the others opinions of her didn't really matter.

"Because I was the one who sent Cinder Fall in the first place."

Eyes widened even as many found something interesting between their feet.

Salem turned to Pyrrha and her heart twisted.

Going by Pyrrha's expression,one would have thought Salem had just shot Pyrrha's dog. Pyrrha seemed on the verge of tears. What was she feeling right now? Betrayal?

Salem didn't blame her. It was a necessary evil at the time of that Salem was certain. And her plan would have saved so many more than it had killed. But that did not remove the taint of her actions. To make matters worse Ozpin's actions rendered her own meaningless. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions dead, to try to save billions, all for nothing.

Salem opened her mouth, the urge to explain her actions nearly overwhelming. She wanted to put the Blame on Ozpin. Her plan would have worked! They'd all be safe instead of now struggling to save their skins.

Pyrrha turned away looking out bullhead's window.

"Necessary evil?" She asked. The terse tone warbled a little as she spoke.

Salem nodded.

Pyrrha's hand tightened into a fist, clenching until the skin turned a pale white. "No better way to turn a good person into a monster."

That word, monster, it stabbed into Salem like a knife. Salem wanted to snap back. Ask where Pyrrha had been, where ruby had been. She had been forced to figure out what to do  _alone_. What was she supposed to do, let them all die? Do nothing?

Instead, she sighed. And remained silent. Her gaze turned to Fenrir, she started as she realized his eyes were open, but only barely. Had he heard the entire conversation?

" _Of course he did. He's starving, not asleep."_  Salem berated herself.

Fenrir nodded at her. The meaning unknown to Salem, but she decided it was encouragement. Or a nod of understanding. The thought was somewhat heartening. Salem turned to Pyrrha, who was still staring out the bullhead window at the passing clouds.

She paused. It would be better to talk later.

Instead she turned to Ruby.

"Ruby."

The girl perked up, her eyes wide.

"When we are with everyone else. I'll explain my reasons in detail. Just promise me you'll hold out judgment until then."

It was less for her, and more for Pyrrha. But neither seemed to notice. Ren and Nora's eyes turned to ruby, waiting for her decision.

Ruby shook her head. "Grimm have hurt everyone I care for. They kill innocent people. You had the power to stop it. How can I not judge you for not doing that?"

Salem opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by ruby;s raised hand.

"But I'm not the one you need to justify yourself to right? You need to do that to your team, and to your friends."

Salem smiled. Remnant's Ruby had a good head on those small shoulders.

"Ruby Rose, you are exactly right."


End file.
